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•'  O,  Great  Conga !  t»k  e  it ;  it  is  thine  :  " 


Page  17. 


LIFE  BY  THE  GANGES. 


CO 


FAITH  AND  VICTORY. 


»T 

•1'ttK    LATE    MBS.  MULLENS, 

OP    CALCUTTA. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
PRESBYTERIAN   BOARD  OF  PUBLICATION, 

1334  CHESTNUT  STREET. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1867,  by 

WM.  L.  HILDEBUKN,  TREASURER, 

in  trust  for  the 
PRESBYTERIAN  PUBLICATION  COMMITTEE, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Ewt«r»»  T«stric 
of  Pennsylvania. 


WESTCOTT    &   THOMSON, 
8tereotm«ni.  Pbitada. 


PZ 


EDITOR'S    PREFACE. 


IT  is  with  no  ordinary  satisfaction  that  we  give  to  the 
American  public  this  unique  book,  a  book  which  could 
scarce  have  been  written  save  by  its  author.  The  daugh- 
ter of  one  of  the  noblest  of  men,  the  Swiss  Missionary 
Lacroix,  she  was  from  childhood  intimate  with  the  lan- 
guage, the  habits,  the  ideas  of  the  people  of  Bengal. 
As  the  wife  of  the  eminent  Dr.  Mullens  of  Calcutta,  and 
his  enthusiastic  colaborer,  she  made  diligent  use  of  her 
rare  opportunities  for  penetrating  the  recesses  of  the 
Hindoo  home,  that  she  might  bless  the  inmates  of  the 
Zenana.  Hence  her  ability  to  lift  the  veil,  and,  combin- 
ing imagination  with  knowledge  and  fact,  to  give  us  an 
inside  view  of  a  Bengalee  home  of  high  rank,  and  of  the 
bitter  conflicts  through  which  its  inmates  emerge  into  the 
light  and  liberty  of  Christian  life. 

The  book  was  written,  primarily,  to  be  read  by  the~peo- 
ple  of  Bengal  in  their  own  tongue.  To  undergo  this  or- 
deal it  must  be  true  to  life.  The  writer  therefore  subjected 
it  to  the  criticism  of  two  Bengalee  gentlemen.  The 
reader  thus  has  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  whilst  he 
is  profoundly  interested  he  is  also  instructed.  Oriental 
sketches  generally  abound  in  the  most  gross  absurdities. 

3 


4  EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 

Here  we  have  one  that  will  be  recognized  as  true  by  the 
Hindoo  reader.  If  it  be  open  to  a  criticism,  it  is  that, 
written  thus  for  Hindoo  readers,  it  touches  lightly  upon 
some  of  the  darker  features  of  Hindoo  life. 

In  the  prime  of  life,  and  in  the  midst  of  uncommon 
usefulness,  whilst  her  tale  of  "Faith  and  Victory"  was 
still  incomplete,  the  hand  of  the  writer  was  stayed  by 
death.  The  manuscript  was  completed  by  her  family 
from  the  outline  which  she  left. 

The  book  having  been  prepared  for  the  Bengalees  con- 
tained, as  originally  published,  matter  less  needful  for 
American  readers.  Some  of  the  chapters  on  this  account 
have  been  abridged,  and  brief  explanatory  notes  have  been 
introduced,  where  it  seemed  needful  for  the  information 
of  those  not  familiar  with  Indian  terms.  The  illustra- 
tions also  have  been  added  by  the  American  Publishers, 
there  being  none  in  the  English  edition. 

To  the  editor,  the  memory  of  a  week  spent  under  the 
kindly-  roof  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Mullens  in  Calcutta,  and  in 
the  midst  of  the  work  to  which  they  were  devoted,  has 
rendered  the  revision  and  publication  of  this  volume  a 
most  grateful  task. 

JOHN  W.  DULLES. 

,  March,  1867. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

MM 

The  fair  on  Saugor  Island — Virtues  of  the  river — A  mission- 
ary preaches  at  the  fair — Attempt  to  sacrifice  a  child — 
The  mother  and  the  priest — The  child  saved — The  mo- 
ther's fears — Gift  of  a  New  Testament  to  her  son — The 
family  returns  home — The  child's  father — Presents  from 
Saugor...... 9-28 

CHAPTER  II. 

The  family  after  forty  years — Mohendro  and  his  sons — 
Prosonno  an  inquirer  after  truth — His  views — His  visit 
to  his  friend,  Ram  Doyal — A  religious  discussion  between 
them — Nature  an  uncertain  teacher — The  soul  needs 
certainty — Changes  in  Brahmism — The  system  compro- 
mised with  idolatry  and  caste — Prosonno  accepts  a  Ben- 
galee Bible — His  father  burns  it — His  grandmother  gives 
him  the  Saugor  Testament — Prosonno's  re-marriage — 
The  bride— The  ceremony 29-60 

CHAPTER  III. 

A  Hindoo  house  described — The  members  of  the  family— 
Kaminee  and  her  studies — Family  jars — The  worship  of 
Biva  described — Growth  of  Prosonno's  convictions — Con- 

5 


6  CONTENTS. 

PAQl 

versation  on  religion  with  Karainee — Outline  of  Christi- 
anity— The  life  of  Christ — A  domestic  quarrel— Causes 
of  quarrels 61-86 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Prosonno's  disappearance — He  has  become  a  Christian — 
Schemes  to  reclaim  him — Interview  with  him  of  his 
father  and  brothers — The  brothers'  views — Chondro's 
arguments — Prosonno's  reply — Hindooism  and  food — 
Hindooism  exclusive — The  brothers  depart — A  message 
tor  Kaminee — Her  anger — The  missionary  is  summoned 
to  the  Magistrate's  Court — The  trial — The  decision — In- 
terview with  his  mother 87-121 

CHAPTER  V. 

Prosonno  going  to  be  baptized — He  is  forcibly  carried  off — 
His  bitter  thoughts — He  is  tempted  by  Surjo — He  is 
taken  to  his  uncle's  house — Interview  with  his  mother 
— He  is  placed  in  confinement — Discussions  as  to  his 
restoration — Temptations  put  in  his  way — The  grief  of 
the  family — He  is  treated  harshly — Secret  schemes  of 
Surjo— The  poisoned  sherbet — Surjo  baffled— His  charac- 
ter— He  is  watched  by  the  grandmother — Surjo  visits 
the  old  witch — The  grandmother  also  visits  her — The 
sleeping  draught — Prosonno's  apparent  death — Ceremo- 
nies at  the  river-side — He  recovers  consciousness,  is  left 
alone  and  escapes 122-172 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Prosonno  baptized — Answers  to  questions — His  student  life 
— His  troubles  about  food — His  yearnings  after  home — • 
He  spends  an  evening  with  the  missionary — Social  con- 
versation— The  training  of  Native  and  English  girls — 


CONTENTS.  7 

PAOl 

No  caste  among  Christians — Bam  Doyal's  marriage — His 
choice  of  a  wife — Description  of  the  ceremony — Mar- 
riage among  the  English — The  wedding  feast 173-207 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Surjo  mad  and  confined — The  grandmother's  growing  faith 
— Surjo's  tragical  end — After  the  funeral  rites  Mohendro 
goes  to  Benares — His  letter  to  Nobo — Quiet  life  at  home 
— Life  of  a  Hindoo  widow — Nistarinee  and  Kaminee — 
Their  conversation — Gopal  puts  on  the  Poita 208-228 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  grandmother  visits  Prosonno — Their  talk  together — 
The  "Sea  of  Love" — Her  failing  health — She  is  nursed 
by  Kaminee — Her  belief  in  the  gospel — She  gives  Kami- 
nee  her  husband's  Christian  books — Kaminee  reads  the 
New  Testament — Her  grandmother's  last  hours — Her 
dying  confession — Funeral  ceremonies  after  her  death : 
at  the  pile;  at  the  house;  at  the  river-side — Kaminee's 
perplexities — She  asks  Nobo  to  explain  them — Her  at- 
tachment to  Shoudaminee — Again  talks  with  Nobo— 
Effort  to  get  Hemlota  married — It  fails — Nobo  resists  his 
convictions — He  visits  Prosonno — Kaminee  resolves  to 
join  her  husband 229-264 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Kaminee  tells  her  resolve  to  Shoudaminee,  and  invites  the 
latter  to  accompany  her — They  arrange  to  escape  and 
?oin  the  Christians — Letter  to  Prosonno — The  scheme 
succeeds — Their  residence  among  the  Christians — Con- 
sternation at  their  departure — The  Saugor  Testament 
discovered ,  ..  205-277 


8  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  X. 

PAGB 

Progress  of  the  new  converts  in  knowledge  and  happiness 
— The  Sabbath  of  their  baptism — Public  worship  among 
Christians — They  are  baptized — Christian  lessons — Nobo 
pays  them  a  visit — His  own  indecision — The  happy 
household— What  Christianity  does  for  its  followers..  278-288 


LIFE  BY  THE  GANGES. 


CHAPTER    I. 

TO  the  Hindoo,  few  spots  are  so  sacred  as  the 
sterile  and  dismal  islet  of  Saugor.  Here  the 
heaven-descended  and  divine  Ganges  meets  and 
mingles  its  turbid  stream  with  the  salt  waters  of 
the  Bay  of  Bengal.  To  bathe  in  this  holy  stream, 
at  this  spot,  has  become  one  of  the  highest  acts 
of  Hindoo  piety. 

It  was  in  the  depth  of  the  rainy  season,  in  the 
month  of  January,  many  years  since,  that  thou- 
sands were  gathered  on  Saugor  Island.  Delicate 
females  and  tender  babes  had  been  exposed,  in 
open  boats,  to  the  damp  chills  of  a  season  which 
to  them  is  peculiarly  trying.  Many  had  spent 
their  little  all,  and  were  now  starving.  Here  was 
a  man  dying,  unnoticed  and  alone;  while  the  wild 

vulture  was  greedily  watching  the  extinction  of 

o 


10  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

the  last  spark  of  life  in  his  feeble  frame,  to  make 
him  the  prey  of  her  own  hungry  brood.  There 
again,  was  raised  a  funeral  pile,  and  as  the  sons 
set  fire  to  the  corpse  of  her  who  had  given  them 
birth,  they  rejoiced  over  her  good  fortune  in  dy- 
ing at  that  sacred  spot  on  that  sacred  day.  The 
harsh  monotonous  sound  of  the  conch-shell,  the 
wailing  of  the  pilgrim  women,  and  the  loud  din 
of  barbarous  music,  rent  the  air. 

The  beach  was  crowded  with  boats  of  every 
shape  and  form,  and  the  barren  sands,  which 
showed  one  mass  of  human  heads,  were  covered 
with  long  lines  of  temporary  booths.  They  were 
erected  of  the  frailest  materials,  of  matting  and 
bamboo,  ornamented  with  flaunting  flags  of  scar- 
let and  gold;  but  the  richness  of  their  contents 
formed  a  matter  of  surprise  to  the  casual  specta- 
tor. Everything  was  to  be  procured  there,  from 
the  most  costly  Persian  satins,  to  the  common 
smoking  pipe  of  the  Bengalee;  and  everything 
purchased  in  those  booths  was  precious,  for  it  was 
a  mela  or  religious  fair  that  we  describe. 

That  such  festivities  should  be  celebrated  on 
such  a  spot,  amidst  the  haunts  of  tigers,  may  well 
astonish  all  but  those  who  are  acquainted  with 


THE   ANNUAL   FAIR.  11 

the  strange  vagaries  of  Hindooism;  for  excepting 
on  the  three  days  in  January  when  the  fair  is 
held,  nothing  is  to  be  seen  the  whole  year  round, 
but  the  broad  sea  in  the  distance,  and  the  dense 
jungle  above  the  shore. 

But  amid  these  thousands  of  devotees,  one  man 
was  seen  from  a  distant  land  and  of  a  different 
race.  As  he  wandered  amid  the  vast  crowd, 
and  saw  them  wholly  given  to  idolatry,  the  soul 
of  the  Christian  Missionary  was  filled  with  deep- 
est melancholy.  God  was  dishonored;  and  as  he 
stood  on  that  secluded  islet,  a  herald  of  the  Most 
High,  he  felt  the  fearful  responsibility  that  was 
laid  on  him.  He  spoke,  therefore,  as  a  dying 
man  to  dying  men;  with  every  word  that  dropped 
from  his  lips,  his  eyes  looked  upward  for  Heaven's 
blessing;  with  every  tract  or  book  he  gave  away, 
he  breathed  a  prayer  that  God's  word  might  not 
return  unto  Him  void.  He  spoke  first  to  one, 
and  then  to  another,  of  Jesus'  love  to  perishing 
sinners ;  but  in  return  for  his  affectionate  entreaty, 
the  enraged  idolaters  refused  to  listen.  They 
threw  dirt  and  stones  in  his  face;  he  was  beaten 
and  reviled;  till  at  last  worn  out  and  dispirited, 
he  closed  his  book  and  walked  away  in  silence. 


12  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

The  heathen  riumphed  in  their  victory;  they  die, 
not  know  the  mighty  weapon  which  that  man  of 
God  was  wielding  against  their  superstition  as  he 
turned  away  from  them  and  wept.  They  did  not 
hear  him  exclaim — "  Let  God  arise,  let  His  ene- 
mies be  scattered."  They  did  not  hear  him  wrest- 
ling with  the  Father  for  the  fulfilment  of  His 
promise  to  His  beloved  Son — "Ask  of  me,  and  I 
shall  give  thee  the  heathen  for  Thine  inheritance, 
and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  Thy  pos- 
session." But  He  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens  did 
hear  it,  and  even  then  He  had  prepared  a  blessing 
which  was  about  to  descend  on  His  servant's  labor 
of  love,  although  that  faithful  servant  knew  not 
of  it  until  he  had  sat  down  with  Abraham  and 
Isaac  and  Jacob  in  the  kingdom  of  his  Master. 

As  the  missionary  walked  along,  his  attention 
was  attracted  by  an  interesting  little  group,  and 
he  could  not  help  following  them  as  they  entered 
the  modern  temple  of  Kupil  Muni.  This  was  a 
small  quadrangular  building,  about  two  hundred 
yards  inshore,  contemptible  in  its  outward  appear- 
ance, and  very  inferior  to  the  original  structure, 
which  has  long  since  been  washed  away  by  the 
sea.  The  little  party  that  now  entered  consisted 


FAMILY   OFFERINGS.  13 

of  a  Brahmin  lady  and  her  two  sons;  one  was  a 
beautiful  boy,  about  twelve  years  old,  and  the 
other,  an  infant  of  a  few  months.  Two  female 
servants  followed,  who,  as  well  as  the  mother, 
were  weeping  bitterly.  After  prostrating  them- 
selves three  times  in  front  of  the  temple,  the  lady 
and  her  children  made  their  way  to  the  Mohonto, 
or  high  priest,  who  was  seated  a  little  behind  a 
rnde  stone  figure  of  the  sage  Kupila.  As  the 
Brahminee  approached  the  high  priest,  she  pre- 
sented him  with  a  gold  cow,  on  a  beautiful  mus- 
lin handkerchief  embroidered  with  silver;  the 
elder  boy  in  his  turn  laid  at  his  feet  several  yards 
of  the  finest  silk,  and  then  the  mother's  trembling 
hand  held  open  that  of  her  babe,  while  the  ava- 
ricious priest  took  from  the  unconscious  child  the 
silver  bells,  which  till  now  had  adorned  his  little 
feet.  This  rite,  which  seemed  to  afford  exquisite 
delight  to  the  Mohonto,  being  completed,  he  dis- 
missed them  with  his  blessing,  and  the  sorrowful 
group  wended  their  way  with  thousands  of  others 
to  the  principal  bathing-place,  situated  at  the 
southern  extremity  of  the  fair.  Here  four  priests 
joined  the  party.  At  the  sight  of  them  the 
Brahminee  uttered  a  loud  shriek,  and  fell  sense- 


14  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

less  on  the  cold  ground ;  but  she  was  supported  by 
her  female  attendants,  and  literally  carried  to  the 
water's  edge.  Here  a  great  crowd  was  assembled. 
The  chief  Brahmin  then  took  the  lovely  infant 
from  the  arms  of  its  elder  brother,  anointed  its 
little  body  with  oil,  vermillion,  and  saffron,  dressed 
it  in  red  and  yellow  muslin,  and  then  began  to 
utter  over  its  devoted  head  charms  and  incanta- 
tions. 

Our  missionary  looked  on  with  most  painful 
anxiety.  The  idea  of  the  horrid  crime  they  were 
about  to  perpetrate  •  had  just  flashed  across  his 
mind,  and  he  determined,  in  God's  strength,  to 
prevent  the  cruel  sacrifice,  if  in  any  way  it  lay  in 
his  power.  He  knew  that  the  Governor-General 
of  India,  during  the  previous  month  of  August, 
had  forbidden  the  drowning  of  children  at  Saugor, 
under  the  severest  penalties.  But  the  law  had 
never  yet  been  enforced,  and  for  him,  single- 
handed,  to  insist  on  it,  in  defiance  of  the  priests 
and  of  the  crowd  who  were  standing  in  eager 
expectation  of  gloating  their  eyes  on  this  spectacle, 
would  have  been  madness  itself.  He  remembered 
that  somewhere  in  the  fair  must  be  the  body  of 
armed  sepoys  which  the  Government  had  sent  to 


THE   MOTHER    AND   THE   PRIESTS.  15 

the  island  for  the  prevention  of  this  crime.  The 
idea  flashed  on  his  mind  that  they  might  arrive 
too  late  ;  that  ere  he  could  return,  the  child  might 
already  be  in  the  jaws  of  some  hungry  alligator. 
But  these  conflicting  emotions  brought  no  delay. 
Trusting  in  God,  and  earnestly  praying  that  some- 
thing might  occur  to  protract  the  ceremony,  the 
missionary  rushed  away  in  search  of  the  men  who 
alone  had  power  to  save  the  child. 

In  the  meantime,  the  baby  having  been  pre- 
pared for  the  sacrifice,  the  Brahmin  priests  tried 
to  rouse  the  insensible  mother.  She  at  length 
opened  her  eyes ;  but  remembering  what  was  going 
forward,  she  sank  back,  exclaiming,  "  Is  there 
nothing  that  can  save  my  child?"  "No,"  said 
the  Brahmin  who  expected  the  largest  fee  for  per- 
forming the  inhuman  rite,  "  No ;  you  have  vowed 
to  give  him  up,  and  your  vow  must  be  performed ; 
yet  the  gods  require  a  willing  sacrifice.  -  Do  you 
consent?  Say  so,  and  let  the  goddess  take  her 
own."  "  No,  no,"  exclaimed  the  agonized  mother, 
"  I  do  not  consent.  If  I  fail  to  perform  my  vow, 
I  can  only  be  accurst ;  let  then  the  curse  alight ; 
death  is  preferable  to  this  !" 

"  Yes,"  said  the  enraged  priest,  "  the  curse  shall 


16  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

alight  indeed,  not  on  you,  however,  but  on  that 
lad  there,"  pointing  to  her  elder  boy;  "it  shall 
alight  on  the  apple  of  your  eye,  on  the  darling  of 
your  heart,  to  save  whose  life  you  made  this  vow ; 
and  now  you  dare  to  retract  it !  Woman,  know 
that  the  goddess  Gunga*  has  cursed  you ;  that  I 
have  cursed  you ;  and  that  unless  you  make  the 
promised  sacrifice,  you  shall  return  home  on  the 
morrow,  taking  your  worthless  infant  with  you,  it 
is  true,  but  leaving  the  ashes  of  your  noble  boy, 
the  stay  of  your  house,  smouldering  on  the  funeral 
pile.  Woman,  do  you  still  refuse  ?" 

But  no  answer  was  returned ;  agony  prevented 
the  utterance  of  words. 

"Then  wave  your  hand,  in  token  that  I  may 
throw  your  babe  into  the  sea,  if  you  cannot 
speak,"  said  the  impatient  Brahmin. 

The  desired  signal  was  given,  and  the  people 
raised  a  shout  of  victory.  The  priest  then,  tak- 
ing the  child  in  his  arms,  repeated  the  following 
dedication: — "Last  year,  O  great  Gunga,  the 
mother  of  this  babe,  then  unborn,  vowed  that  she 
would  give  it  to  thee  if  thou  wouldst  cure  her 
eldest  son  of  the  dangerous  illness  with  which  he 

*  The  river  Ganges,  esteemed  a  goddess  by  the  Hindoos 


THE   CHILD   SAVED.  17 

was  afflicted.  This  thou  didst  do,  and  now  she 
has  brought  thee  her  infant.  Take  it;  it  is  thine." 
Tne  babe  was  thrown;  one  little  splash  was  heard; 
but  the  next  instant  the  mother  had  it  safe  on  her 
bosom  once  more!  Frantic  with  grief,  she  had 
plunged  in  and  rescued  it. 

"No,  no,  Gunga  shall  not  have  him,"  she  cried. 
"  I  was  mad,  quite  mad,  when  I  made  that  vow. 
I  thought  that  my  child  would  have  been  a 
daughter.  If  it  had  been  so,  perhaps  I  could 
have  given  it  up ;  but  my  boy !  no,  never !  I  will 
not,  cannot  see  my  baby  boy  drowned  before  my 
eyes." 

Again  the  Brahmin  menaced  her  more  severely 
than  before;  again  (for  superstition  was  strong 
within  her,  as  well  as  maternal  love)  she  was  in- 
duced to  yield,  when  at  that  critical  moment,  just 
as  the  priest  was  in  the  act  of  throwing  the  babe 
for  the  second  time  into  the  sea,  his  arm  was  ar- 
rested by  the  missionary;  while  the  foremost  of 
the  band  of  sepoys,  who  had  followed  him  in 
breathless  haste,  struck  the  wretch  on  the  head, 
for  daring  to  commit  the  unnatural  murder,  after 
he  had  heard  the  proclamation  forbidding  it.  The 
intimidated  priest  got  off  as  well  as  he  could;  the 


18  LIFE   BY   THE    GANGES. 

crowd  fled  after  him,  and  soon  the  missionary,  the 
sepoys,  and  the  now  rejoicing  family  were  left 
alone.  The  poor  mother  fell  at  the  feet  of  the 
missionary,  whose  very  touch  at  any  other  time 
she  would  have  considered  pollution,  and  almost 
worshipped  him.  "Thank  you,  thank  you  a 
thousand  times,  sir,"  she  exclaimed;  "you  have 
delivered  my  darling;  you  have  made  his  moth- 
er's heart  rejoice.  Oh,  how  could  I  have  lived 
without  my  baby.  I  can  do  nothing  for  you,  sir; 
but  the  God  of  the  universe  will  reward  you.  I 
will  continually  pray  to  our  deities  to  send  you 
their  blessing.  You  shall  have  seven  sons;  your 
riches  shall  increase ;  your  honor  shall  increase ; 
you  shall  have  an  inkstand  of  gold,  and  write 
with  a  pen  of  pure  silver." 

But  at  that  instant  a  shade  of  anxious  sadness 

passed  over  the  face  of  the  half  rejoicing,  half 

trembling  woman,  while  she  timidly  turned  to  the 

^epoys,  and  said : — "I  had  forgotten  the  Brahmin's 

^surse.     Must  I  indeed  leave  my  Mohendro,  my 

first-born,  here  on  this  barren  island,  burning  on 

his  funeral  pyre,  as  the  priest  predicted?     Oh, 

wretched  mother  that  I  am,  is  there  no  way  of 

saving  one  child  without  sacrificing  the  other  ?" 


THE  MOTHER'S  FEARS.  19 

The  sepoys,  themselves  Hindoos,  were  quite 
moved  at  her  grief-stricken  countenance.  "No, 
no,"  they  exclaimed,  "Mohendro  will  not  die. 
You  have  consented  to  perform  your  vow,  but  we 
forcibly  prevented  you.  If,  then,  Gunga  be  so 
revengeful,  which,  indeed,  we  cannot  believe, 
then  her  curse  will  alight  on  us,  not  on  you  or 
yours." 

A  gleam  of  hope  lighted  up  the  bewildered 
features  of  the  mother,  while  she  said  to  her  fe- 
male attendants,  "  Come,  Ddsee  and  Tdra,  let  us 
go  to  our  boat,  and  leave  this  horrible  place  at 
once.  The  gods  grant  that  I  may  never  see  it 
again." 

"  O  lady,"  answered  the  women,  "  do  not  talk 
so ;  it  is  a  holy  place ;  have  not  the  Shastres  *  said 
so  ?  Retract  your  saying,  lady ;  retract  it,  or  our 
boat  will  perish  in  the  waters ;  the  gods  will  never 
let  us  reach  home  in  safety." 

"  Well,"  said  the  Brahminee,  "  may  they  focfc. 
give  me  for  my  hasty  language.  I  meant  no  ill 
to  them,  but  no  one  can  tell  what  I  have  suffered 
at  this  holy  place ;  and  ah,  women,  if  you  were 
shocked  at  my  wishing  never  to  return  here,  what 
*  Holy  Books. 


20  LIFE    BY    THE   GANGES. 

would  you  say  to  a  dreadful,  dreadful  thought 
which  I  had  concerning  our  goddess,  a  thought 
that  would  force  itself  upon  me  when  the  Brah- 
min declared  that  Gunga  would  destroy  Mohen- 
dro  if  I  did  not  give  up  to  her  my  darling  little 
Rajendro.  But  I  will  not  pollute  your  minds 
with  the  impiety  of  that  thought.  No  mortal 
9ar  shall  ever  hear  it,  but  I  will  atone  for  it  by 
fastings,  and  prayers,  and  gifts." 

The  party  took  a  kindly  leave  of  each  other; 
but  as  the  mother  with  her  children  wended  her 
way  to  the  place  where  they  had  left  their  boat,  a 
sudden  thought  flashed  across  the  mind  of  the 
missionary ;  it  seemed  almost  to  come  to  him  with 
the  force  of  inspiration.  "Stop,  Mohendro,  stop," 
said  he  to  the  boy,  "here  is  a  book  for  you;  will 
you  promise  not  to  destroy  it,  and  to  read  it  when 
you  are  able?"  The  missionary  handed  to  him 
his  own  copy  of  the  Bengalee  New  Testament, 
jyhich  had  been  printed  at  Serampore  only  two 
years  before. 

But  the  boy  shrank  from  it,  as  from  a  polluted 
thing,  and  looked  to  his  mother  for  counsel. 
"Take  it,  Mohendro,"  she  said,  "take  it;  will  you 


THE    PLAN   OF   SALVATION.  21 

offend  the  Sahib*  after  he  has  saved  your  broth- 
er's life  ?  But  sir,"  she  exclaimed,  turning  to  the 
missionary,  "  I  know  his  father  will  not  let  him 
read  any  Christian  book;  however,  one  thing  I 
can  promise,  that  for  your  sake  it  shall  never  be 
destroyed." 

"Thanks  for  that  promise  at  least,"  said  the 
man  of  God,  "  but  if  you  only  knew  what  it  con- 
tained, how  you  would  delight  that  your  children 
should  read  it.  It  tells  of  a  sinless  Being,  Jesus 
Christ,  who  has  made  atonement  for  the  sins  of 
the  whole  world  by  shedding  His  own  precious 
blood  and  bearing  the  penalty  of  sin,  which  is 
death.  Oh,  if  you  trusted  in  Him,  and  relied  on 
Him  alone,  for  the  forgiveness  of  all  your  trans- 
gressions, you  would  not  need  to  come  here  to 
bathe  in  these  waters;  they  do  not  purify  your 
soul.  Our  God  is  a  Sea  of  Love,  and  rather  than 
sinful  men  should  perish  in  the  vain  endeavor  to 
work  out  their  own  salvation,  He  sent  His  ownj 
Son  to  die  for  them,  the  just  for  the  unjust.  The 
God  described  in  this  book  would  never  have 
asked  your  baby  of  you,  for  the  whole  earth  is 
His,  and  the  fulness  thereof.  He  wants  your 

*  Sahib,  Lord,  Gentlemai.. 


22  LIFE    BY   THE   GANGES. 

heart  alon  3.  If  with  your  whole  heart  alone  you 
love  and  trust  Him,  you  are  saved  eternally." 

These  words  sounded  strangely  in  the  ears  of 
the  Brahmin  woman,  and  were  strongly  impressed 
on  her  memory.  Though  so  ignorant  of  anything 
beyond  her  own  system  of  crueltv  and  super- 
stition that  they  failed  to  convey  any  meaning  to 
her  mind,  yet  she  thought  over  them,  repeated 
them  to  herself,  and  seemed  perplexed,  till  at  last, 
turning  suddenly  to  the  missionary,  she  hastily 
bade  him  good-bye,  saying,  "Oh,  sir,  I  should 
not  be  listening  to  such  words  as  yours.  What 
would  Mohendro's  father*  say  if  he  knew  that  I 
had  been  giving  ear  to  them  even  for  a  single 
moment?"  And  the  woman  went  on  her  way. 

What  good  had  been  done?  A  little  precious 
seed  sown,  and  one  copy  of  the  sacred  Scriptures 
bestowed  on  individuals  who  would  not  even 
promise  to  peruse  its  life-giving  truths;  a  copy 
of  the  sacred  Scriptures  bestowed,  merely  to  be- 
come a  part  of  household  rubbish,  to  be  disi'e- 
garded  and  condemned !  But  the  missionary  re- 
turned to  his  boat,  with  a  heart  filled  with  grati- 

*  A  Hindoo  woman  d>es  not  speak  the  na'ne  of  her  hus- 
band. 


RETURN   OF    THE   FAMILY.  23 

fcude  to  God,  for  ha%  ing  enabled  him  to  be  the 
means  of  introducing  into  the  family  of  a  Hindoo 
priest  even  a  single  copy  of  the  word  that  maketh 
wise  unto  salvation. 

The  mother  with  her  children  went  on  their 
way  in  their  boat,  ascending  the  river  towards 
their  home,  which  they  reached,  after  journeying 
five  days.  The  Brahminee  looked  forward  to 
meeting  her  lord  with  a  strange  mixture  of  joy 
and  fear.  At  one  time  she  trembled  lest  he 
should  spurn  her  from  his  presence,  as  an  impi- 
ous, or  at  best  a  weak-minded  creature,  lacking 
courage  to  perform  a  solemn  vow,  which  yet  she 
had  had  the  hardihood  to  make.  At  another 
time,  she  would  fain  believe  that  his  better  nature 
would  prevail;  that  his  paternal  feelings  would 
come  to  her  aid,  and  that  she  would  be  freely 
forgiven.  With  an  anxious  heart,  therefore,  she 
entered  the  house,  having  taken  care  to  conceal 
her  sleeping  child  in  the  folds  of  her  muslin 
drapery,  in  order  that  she  might  judge  how  and 
at  what  time  it  might  be  best  to  reveal  to  her 
husband-lord  the  secret,  that  he  was  the  father  of 
a  living  babe  still.  But  the  precaution  was 
unnecessary.  The  old  Brahmin  was  engaged  in 


24  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

performing  his  noon-devotions,  during  which  time 
his  wife  and  servants  well  knew  he  never  suffered 
them  to  interrupt  him.  He  had  finished  the  Siva 
worship,  and  had  just  begun  his  auhik  or  invo- 
cation of  household  gods,  when  he  overheard 
Mohendro  telling  an  old  nurse  of  the  wonderful 
things  he  had  seen  at  the  Saugor  fair.  The  aus- 
tere priest  was  a  man  after  all,  and  it  was  there- 
fore not  surprising  that  he  hurried  through  the 
concluding  prayers  and  went  hastily  into  his  wife's 
apartment  to  learn  the  actual  fate  of  their  darling. 
His  wife  met  him  with  a  calm,  almost  smiling 
face,  which  evidently  puzzled  him. 

"And  so,"  he  exclaimed,  "Gunga  has  taken 
our  babe!  O  Mohendro's  mother,  how  can  you 
stand  there  and  look  so  calm  after  having  com- 
mitted your  child  to  the  deep  !  Well,  the  gods 
be  praised  for  so  supporting  you.  They  have  not 
been  equally  gracious  to  me.  Miserable,  very 
miserable  have  I  been  for  the  last  ten  days.  Do 
you  know  that  twice  I  sent  messengers  after  you 
with  a  bag  of  five  thousand  rupees  ($2.500),  to 
request  you  to  bring  back  the  child  and  to  give 
away  the  money  instead,  that  so  the  goddess 
might  be  appeased?  But  twice  I  recalled  them, 


FATHER   AND   SON.  25 

thinking  that  our  house  would  be  accurst  forever 
if  we  refused  what  we  had  vowed.  Yes,  it  is 
better  as  it  is.  I  am  glad  that  you  have  given 
him  up,"  exclaimed  the  weeping  Brahmin,  "for 
the  wrath  of  the  gods  is  a  fearful  thing;  but  oh ! 
Mohendro's  mother,  I  cannot  love  you  the  more 
for  wearing  this  calm,  nay  cheerful  countenance; 
it  seems  so  cold,  so  unnatural,  that  I  shrink  from 
meeting  your  gaze.  How  is  it,  woman,  speak !" 

The  moment  had  arrived  when  her  silence  must 
be  broken ;  when  her  secret  must  be  revealed ;  and 
she  fell  at  the  feet  of  her  husband,  exclaiming, 
"Oh,  if  he  had  been  sacrificed,  do  you  think  I 
could  have  lived  to  tell  the  tale?  No,  no,  our 
baby  is  not  dead,  I  have  brought  him  back,  he 
sleeps  peacefully  in  his  cradle." 

"  How  !"  said  the  trembling  father,  "  and  the 
curse !  Were  you  not  afraid  of  the  curse  ?  It 
will  surely  alight;  O  woman,  woman!  what  have 
you  done?" 

"Pause  one  moment  ere  you  condemn  me," 
urged  his  wife,  and  then  she  related  to  him  all  the 
circumstances  connected  with  the  rescue  of  her 
darling  from  a  watery  grave,  save  only  her  con- 
versation with  the  missionary;  and  the  father 


26  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

listened  with  a  bounding  heart  and  glistening 
eyes,  exclaiming  at  the  end,  as  he  rushed  into  an 
adjoining  apartment  to  embrace  the  little  lost  one, 
"  Yes,  yes,  those  sepoys  were  right ;  Gunga  will 
not  visit  us  with  her  vengeance." 

After  Mohendro  and  the  father  had  partaken 
of  their  breakfast,  a  meal  which  a  strict  Hindoo 
never  touches  until  he  has  performed  his  noon 
Poojah*  and  the  worship  of  his  household  god, 
the  old  man  said  to  his  son,  "Well,  boy,  and 
what  have  you  brought  home  with  you  in  remem- 
brance of  Gunga  Saugor  ?"  Mohendro  ran  off  to 
his  mother,  who,  although  faint  and  tired,  had 
waited  to  begin  her  breakfast  until  her  husband 
had  finished.  She  was  just  going  to  sit  down  to  it 
when  her  son  exclaimed,  "  Oh !  mother,  let  me 
have  all  the  things  we  brought  from  Gunga  Sau- 
gor ;  father  wishes  to  see  them."  The  mother, 
forgetting  the  New  Testament,  threw  her  keys  to 
Mohendro,  saying,  "Open  the  green  trunk  we 
took  with  us,  and  you  will  find  all ;  only  do  not 
call  me  away  to  assist  you  while  I  am  getting  my 
breakfast ;  I  am  hungry,  and  if  I  once  leave  my 

*  Poojah,  worshi}  . 


PRESENT  FROM  SAUGOR.         27 

food  you  know  it  would  be  unclean,  and  contrary 
to  the  Shastres  to  return  to  it." 

The  Brahminee  had  carefully  avoided  telling 
her  husband  about  her  conversation  with  the 
missionary  and  the  possession  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, knowing  how  displeased  he  would  be  with 
her  for  listening  to  words  spoken  against  their 
own  ancient  religion,  and  more  especially  for  pol- 
luting her  hands  with  the  touch  of  a  Christian 
book.  Mohendro,  however,  now  ran  to  him  with 
the  Testament  among  his  other  treasures. 

"  Here,  father,"  he  said,  u-is  a  little  vessel  full 
of  water  taken  from  the  junction  of  the  Ganges 
and  the  sea ;  mother  says  if  we  preserve  it  care- 
fully it  will  bring  us  many  blessings.  And  here 
are  some  Be*!  leaves  and  Hibiscus  flowers  which  I 
took  out  of  the  water  after  they  had  been  offered ; 
and  here  is  a  beautiful  box  which  mother  bought 
for  her  jewels ;  and  here  is  a  little  silk  dress  for 
myself,  and  a  muslin  one  for  you."  The  boy  was 
going  to  proceed,  when  the  father  glancing  at  the 
New  Testament  suddenly  stopped  him,  saying, 
"  And  there  is  another  Ramayan*  I  declare,  as  if 
three  copies  were  not  sufficient.  Mohendro,  what 

*Ramayan — a  favorite  poem  of  the  Hindoos. 


28  LIFE    BY    THE    GANGES. 

made  your  mother  buy  that  ?"  Mohendro  at  once 
remembered  that  his  mother  wished  to  conceal  the 
possession  of  the  Testament  from  his  father ;  he 
saw  his  mistake  in  bringing  it  forward,  and  with 
all  the  tact  and  cunning  of  a  Bengalee  boy, 
brought  up  without  any  regard  to  truth,  he  im- 
mediately said,  (at  the  same  time  taking  the  book 
in  his  own  hand  to  prevent  discovery),  "Yes, 
father,  it  is  a  Ramayan  for  uncle ;  he  gave  mother 
the  money  for  it  before  she  went,  saying  he  would 
like  to  possess  a  copy  bought  at  the  Gunga  Saugor 
Mela." 

After  saying  this,  away  ran  Mohendro  with  the 
book,  to  disclose  to  his  mother  his  artful  stratagem, 
From  her  he  received  his  due  meed  of  praise,  as 
she  carefully  put  the  precious  volume  into  a  safe 
place  of  concealment,  saying,  "  Well,  come  what 
may,  I  will  keep  my  promise  to  that  good  man ; 
his  book  shall  not  be  destroyed." 

The  mother  and  the  son  little  thought  that  the 
volume  they  were  preserving  with  so  much  care 
would  be  the  means  of  producing  in  their  own 
household  the  greatest  calamity  (in  their  opinion) 
that  ever  befell  a  Hindoo  family. 


CHAPTER    II. 

MORE  than  forty  years  have  passod  since  the 
events  occurred  which  are  related  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapter.  We  have  now  to  introduce  our 
readers  to  the  same  dwelling  indeed,  but  to  scenes, 
oh!  how  changed!  Mohendro's  father,  the  bi- 
goted old  Brahmin  priest,  has  long  since  gone  to 
his  last  account.  His  wife,  more  than  thirty 
years  his  junior,  still  lives,  and,  if  we  except  all 
the  privations  which,  as  a  widow,  she  must  un- 
dergo, seems  to  be  spending  her  declining  days  in 
happiness  and  quiet.  The  boy  Mohendro  has, 
here  and  there,  a  white  hair  on  his  head;  he  is 
now  the  chief  stay  of  the  house,  enjoying  his  an- 
cestral property,  and  generously  supporting  with 
it  a  numerous  circle  of  dependent  and  indigent 
relatives.  Mohendro  married  in  due  time,  and 
his  wife  has  given  birth  to  four  sons  and  a  daugh- 
ter. Three  of  these  young  men  also,  in  their 
turn,  have  already  entered  the  married  state;  the 

20 


30  LIFE   BY   THE    GANGES. 

fourth  is  a  lad  at  college,  and  the  daughter  is  a 
beautiful  bright  little  girl,  six  years  of  age,  the 
pet  of  the  whole  household. 

In  character  Mohendro  very  much  resembled 
his  father.  Like  him,  he  was  an  austere  man, 
and  paid  as  great  regard  to  the  requirements  of 
Hindooism  as  the  old  man  did.  The  fondest 
wish  of  his  heart  was  to  see  his  sons  imitate  his 
example  in  this  one  particular  at  least,  veneration 
for  the  religion  of  their  fathers.  But  in  this  he 
was  doomed  to  severe  disappointment.  With  the 
exception  of  his  eldest  son,  Surjo  Kumar,  none  of 
the  others  paid  any  regard  to  the  subject.  Chondro 
Kumar,  the  second  son,  a  wild  dissipated  youth, 
used  openly  to  deride  his  father's  reverence  for 
stocks  and  stones;  and  it  had  even  been  asserted, 
though  that  might  have  been  only  a  rumor,  that 
he  had  so  far  departed  from  the  strict  require- 
ments of  Hindooism,  as  to  eat  and  drink  with 
other  young  men  of  his  own  lax  principles,  that 
which  was  forbidden  by  the  Shastres. 

Prosonno  Kumar,  the  brother  next  in  age  to 
Chondro,  was  a  very  different  character.  Any 
stranger  might  have  marked,  in  his  finely-chis- 
elled, pale,  and  melancholy  face,  the  incipient 


MOHENDRO'S    SONS.  31 

consumption  that  was  preying  on  his  vitals ;  but 
it  did  not  seem  to  have  struck  him,  or  any  of 
his  family,  that  he  might  not  be  long  for  this 
world.  Of  a  highly  intellectual  and  reflective 
cast  of  mind,  Prosonno  Kumar  was  deeply  soli- 
citous on  all  subjects  connected  with  religion. 
He  had  examined  the  system  of  Hindooism,  as  it 
was  practiced  by  his  father  and  other  Brahmins 
of  the  old  school,  and  had  long  since  rejected  it 
as  being  a  monstrous  mixture  of  puerile  absurd- 
ities, gross  impurity,  and  falsehood.  Modern 
Brahmism,  as  inculcated  by  the  teachers  of  the 
Br&hmo  Samaj,*  proved  a  far  more  powerful 
enemy  to  his  search  after  truth ;  he  was  fascinated 
by  its  plausible  reasonings  and  curious  specula- 
tions; it  opened  to  him,  a  wide  field  for  philoso- 
phical research;  he  was  pleased  with  its  brief  code 
of  morals  and  the  spirituality  of  its  worship,  till, . 
glad  in  any  way  to  escape  from  Purdnic  Hindoo- 
ism,  he  had  eagerly  professed  himself  a  Brahmist, 
and  commenced,  in  all  sincerity  of  purpose,  to 

*  A  society  of  Hindoo  deistic  reformers.  Brahmism,  their 
deistic  faith,  must  not  be  confounded  with  Brahminism,  the 
system  of  the  idolatrous  Brahmins.  The  Brahmists  take  their 
title  from  Brahm,  the  Supreme  Being. 


32  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

endeavor,  by  prayer,  study,  and  meditation,  to 
obtain  that  knowledge  of  the  Supreme  Being, 
which,  according  to  the  Brahmist  school,  is  the 
only  needful  way  of  salvation.  Still  he  seemed 
restless  and  unhappy. 

Things  were  in  this  state  when,  one  fine  even- 
ing in  June,  Prosonno  called  to  his  youngest  and 
favorite  brother  to  accompany  him  in  a  walk. 
"Are  you  going  to  the  Samaj,  brother?"  asked 
Nobo  Kumar,  the  youngest  of  the  four  brothers, 
when  they  had  got  outside  the  house. 

"No,  Nobo,"  replied  Prosonno,  "I  am  going 
to  do  something  which  our  family  would  disap- 
prove of,  and  therefore  I'  did  not  mention  it  in 
their  presence ;  but  I  think  I  may  trust  you  with 
my  secret, — may  I  not?" 

"Oh,  yes,  brother,  that  you  may,"  replied  the 
lad ;  "  I  will  never  betray  you ;  do  I  not  love  you 
better  than  all  the  world  beside?" 

"Well,  then,"  said  Prosonno,  "I  am  going  to 
meet  the  Christian  Ram  Doyal,  with  whom  we 
became  acquainted  the  other  day,  and  discuss  re- 
ligious questions  with  him.  The  Bible  is  to  be 
his  standard.  I  am  going  armed  at  all  points  to 
fight  for  Brahmism;  and  Heaven  grant  that  our 


PROSONNO    AND    HIS    VIEWS.  38 

religion  may  stand  the  test  of  truth.  But  some- 
how, Nobo,  I  am  disappointed  in  it.  It  has  not 
imparted  to  me  the  happiness  I  sought." 

"Oh,  brother!"  said  the  lad,  "that  is  because 
you  have  not  yet  been  able  wholly  to  fulfil  all  the 
requirements  of  Brahmism.  Our  cousin  told  me 
some  time  since  that  we  ought  not  to  expect  rest 
or  peace  until  we  can,  with  a  clear  conscience, 
take  our  rules  of  faith  in  our  hands,  and  say,  all 
this  I  have  kept." 

"And  can  he  say  that,  Nobo?"  asked  Prosonno. 

"Yes,"  replied  Nobo;  "he  says  he  can." 

"Alas!  then,"  said  his  brother,  "our  views  of 
the  requirements  of  our  religion  differ  most 
widely.  Is  not  forgiveness  constantly  inculcated 
and  extolled?  Is  it  not  said  to  be  'the  highest 
wealth,  the  excellence  of  the  weak,  the  ornament 
of  the  strong?'  And  yet,  did  we  not  hear,  the 
other  day,  of  a  most  shameful  quarrel  between 
our  cousin  and  his  father-in-law?  How  did  he 
reconcile  that  with  his  conscience?  No,  no, 
Nobo;  it  is  more  difficult  than  he  thinks  for  us  to 
fulfil  a  pure  moral  law ;  that  is  the  very  thing 
that  discourages  me.  I  find  myself  every  hour 


34  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

falling  into  sin.  But  here  is  Rain  Doyal;  let  ua 
£D  into  the  house  with  him." 

The  young  men  saluted  each  other  courteously, 
and  Nobo  reluctantly  followed.  In  his  own  mind 
he  wished  his  brother  safe  at  the  Bra-hma  Samaj ; 
but  he  was  too  sincerely  attached  to  him  either  to 
thwart  his  wishes  or  betray  his  purpose.  Ram 
Doyal  immediately  set  two  seats  for  his  visitors, 
and  after  placing  a  bright  lamp  on  the  table,  he 
brought  his  Bible,  and  sat  down  with  them. 

It  was  such  a  meeting  as  the  angels  love  to  look 
upon.  Before  commencing  their  deliberations,  the 
Christian  asked  permission  to  say  a  few  words  of 
prayer  to  the  God  he  adored.  This  request  was 
courteously  complied  with  by  his  heathen  friends. 
Ram  Doyal  then  stood  up,  and  lifting  up  his  heart 
to  heaven  said,  "Blessed  Fountain  of  Wisdom, 
Light,  Life,  and  Happiness,  do  Thou  shine  into 
our  hearts.  Teach  us  Thy  whole  will.  Tell  us 
what  is  acceptable  service,  and  give  us  grace  to 
follow  in  the  path  Thou  shalt  open  up  to  us,  that 
it  may  lead  us  to  Life  Eternal.  This  we  ask,  not 
in  our  own  name,  but  in  the  name  of  Thy  beloved 
Son,  Christ  Jesus,  who  has  made  atonement  for 
our  sins." 


A    RELIGIOUS   DISCUSSION.  35 

Whether  the  heathen  young  men  at  that  time 
entered  into  the  spirit  of  this  prayer,  we  cannot 
tell,  but  in  after  years,  Prosonno  often  said,  that 
he  never  forgot  it.  The  words  so  exactly  expressed 
his  own  spiritual  want,  that  afterwards,  before 
opening  the  Bible,  or  any  book  on  the  subject  of 
religion,  he  used  involuntarily  to  employ  the 
language  of  his  Christian  friend's  supplication, 
"  Blessed  Fountain  of  Wisdom,  Light,  Life,  and 
Happiness,  shine  into  my  heart." 

On  the  present  occasion  he  commenced  the  con- 
versation by  saying :  "  Well,  Ram  Doyal,  you 
have  been  a  Brahmist  yourself  but  gave  up  your 
membership ;  will  you  kindly  mention  a  few  of 
your  reasons  for  abandoning  that  religion,  and 
afterwards  tell  us  your  reasons  for  embracing 
Christianity?" 

"The  first  and  chief  cause  of  my  becoming  dis- 
satisfied with  Brahmism,"  replied  Ram  Doyal, 
"  was  that  in  it  I  found  no  atonement  for  sin." 

"  But,"  said  Nobo  Kumar,  "  you  must  not  argue 
as  a  Christian,  Ram  Doyal ;  you  ought  to  meet 
us  on  common  ground;  we  deny  altogether  the 
necessity  of  an  atonement,  at  least  such  a  one  as 
cannot  be  made  by  man  himself." 


86  LIFE   BY   THE    GANGES. 

"Well,"  said  Rdra  Doyal,  "we  agree  on  the 
character  of  God,  at  least  in  most  points.  You 
say  He  is  wisdom,  eternity,  joy,  and  goodness 
personified,  the  fountain  of  holiness,  the  punisher 
of  sin.  We  say  the  same.  Now  in  what  light 
do  you  suppose  this  pure  Being,  fountain  of  holi- 
ness and  truth,  regards  all  our  sins  and  evil  deeds  ? 
Do  they  not  deserve  His  anger  ?  Ought  He  not, 
in  accordance  with  His  own  character  as  the  pun- 
isher of  sin,  to  reward  us  according  to  our  deserts  ? 
Some  instances  of  sin,  though  only  between  fel- 
low-creatures, merit  suffering  as  a  penalty ;  this 
few  will  deny.  Now  suppose  we  extend  this  view 
to  the  whole  universe,  including  its  glorious  Sov- 
ereign ;  we  shall  then  be  convinced  that  His  claims 
on  the  affections  and  obedience  of  His  rational 
creatures  are  infinitely  superior  to  those  of  an 
earthly  parent,  or  benefactor ;  that  a  violation  of 
those  claims  produces  a  proportionate  criminality ; 
and  that  any  such  violation  deserves  an  adequate 
punishment ;  or  requires  a  full  and  perfect  satis- 
faction to  the  honor  and  justice  of  the  divine 
government. 

"  I  do  not  think  either  of  us  will  be  so  unrea- 
sonable as  to  deny  that  we  are  sinners.  Supposing 


THE  GOVERNMENT  OF  GOD.  37 

thu  to  be  granted,  the  case  lies  thus:  are  we  able 
to  make  to  God  the  necessary  satisfaction  for  Hh> 
broken  laws?  If  not,  is  there  any  other  Being 
willing  to  do  so?  If  there  be  no  such  Being, 
then  we  must  be  content  to  suffer  just  punishment 
for  our  offences." 

"  But,"  said  Nobo,  "  I  do  not  see  why  it  is  so 
impossible  for  man  to  make  satisfaction  for  his 
sins,  as  you  seem  to  think ;  can  he  not  do  it  by 
meditating  on  the  divine  attributes,  by  repentance 
and  prayer?" 

"O  Nobo,"  exclaimed  Prosonno,  "you  have 
overlooked  the  point  of  Ram  Doyal's  argument; 
man  has  sinned  against  his  Creator,  his  preserver, 
his  benefactor,  and  for  such  a  transgression,  an 
adequate  satisfaction  is  needed;  would  you  say 
that  mere  repentance  and  prayer  would  constitute 
such  a  satisfaction  ?" 

"  You  have  quite  understood  my  meaning,  Pro- 
sonno," said  R£m  Doyal,  "and  this  leads  us  to 
another  branch  of  the  same  argument.  Is  man 
able  sincerely  to  repent,  that  is  to  say,  to  forsake 
sin  of  his  own  unaided  will  ?" 

Prosonno  looked  doubtful :  he  had  confessed  to 
his  brothor,  a  short  time  before,  that  he  was  un- 


38  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

able  to  get  rid  of  the  burden  of  his  own  daily 
and  hourly  offenses ;  and  yet  he  did  not  like  to 
leave  this  stronghold  of  the  self-righteous  sinner; 
so  he  said :  "  I  think  we  could  all  forsake  sin, 
R£m  Doyal,  if  we  were  always  careful  in  striving 
against  it." 

"  That,  my  dear  friend,  is  a  complete  mistake," 
continued  Rdm  Doyal.  "  Does  the  history  of  the 
world  show  that?  Kingdoms  and  nations  that 
have  not  enjoyed  the  Christian  revelation  have 
not  worked  themselves  out  of  sin,  but  have  sunk 
into  deeper  and  deeper  depths.  History  seems  to 
deny  to  man  the  power  of  self-reformation. 

"In  addition,  in  all  cases  we  find  increased 
confusion  and  ignorance  as  to  what  is  right  and 
what  is  wrong :  what  class  of  acts  are  to  be  reck- 
oned virtuous  and  what  vicious.  With  all  the 
advantages  possessed  by  Bengalee  Deists,  even 
your  own  system  has  not  been  sufficiently  explicit 
in  its  definitions  of  vice  and  virtue.  I  should 
like  to  know  exactly  what  they  mean  by  sin;  for 
the  Vedas  give  no  moral  code;  and  the  few  prin- 
ciples of  right  and  wrong  that  have  been  inculca- 
ted by  Ram  Mohun  Roy  and  others  are  very  well 
as  far  as  they  go;  but  whence  are  they  derived? 


THE   SOUL   NEEDS   CERTAINTY.  39 

What  is  their  authority  ?  They  are  human  sys- 
tems after  all,  very  imperfect,  and  abound  in 
error." 

"Oh!  do  not  say  so,"  said  Prosonno;  "the 
Brahmist  takes  his  moral  code  from  the  light  of 
nature;  his  is  the  natural  Religion  that  the  Crea- 
tor himself  has  caused  to  shine  in  the  heart  of 
every  man ;  we  cannot  have  a  better  guide  than 
that  which  He  has  given  us." 

"I  assure  you,  my  dear  Prosonno,"  replied  his 
friend,  "that  the  light  of  Nature  is  a  very  uncer- 
tain guide.  On  many  points  the  teaching  of  its 
followers  has  been  at  variance  with  the  judgment 
of  mankind :  on  many  points  they  have  disagreed 
among  themselves.  On  the  most  momentous 
question  of  all,  the  subject  of  a  FUTURE  LIFE, 
the  teaching  of  Nature  only  conveys  to  us  what  is 
probable,  while  the  mind  of  man  needs  what  is 
sure.  This  uncertainty  is  seen  among  the  Cal- 
cutta Brah mists.  One  of  them,  you  know,  has 
published  a  book  to  prove  that  there  is  no  future 
state  to  man  after  his  death.  On  account  of  this 
uncertainty  I  was  exceedingly  dissatisfied  with 
Brahmism. 

"Besides,  when  I  came  to  look  at  sin,  I  found 


40  LIFE    BY   THE    GANGES. 

myself  ever  asking:  'How  shall  I  escape  the  pun- 
ishment it  deserves?  There  is  a  God,  almighty, 
wise,  and  just;  I  have  broken  His  law:  how  can 
I  be  saved?  who  will  satisfy  that  law  for  me?'  I 
felt  that  something  more  was  necessary  than  any 
repentance  or  reformation  of  my  own.  They  look 
forward  to  the  future.  Who  shall  wipe  away  the 
past?  I  found  the  need  stated,  and  the  question 
answered,  in  the  Bible.  That  book  I  verily  be- 
lieve to  be  the  WORD  OF  GOD.  I  have  examined 
its  claims,  and  studied  the  evidences  of  its  truth, 
and  having  done  this,  I  now  accept  whatever  it 
declares:  and  whether  my  poor  reason  can  fully 
comprehend  its  doctrines  or  not,  I  implicitly  be- 
lieve them.  This  word  declares,  'Without  shed- 
ding of  blood  there  is  no  remission  of  sin.'  Christ 
Jesus  is  the  *  propitiation  for  our  sins.'  For  '  if 
when  we  were  enemies  we  were  reconciled  to  God 
by  the  death  of  His  Son,  much  more  being  recon- 
ciled we  shall  be  saved  by  His  life.'  With  these 
texts  before  me,"  continued  Rdm  Doyal,  "you 
see  I  can  do  nothing  but  totally  and  entirely  re- 
ject the  system  of  salvation  by  works,  and  cling 
to  that  which  will  confer  salvation  upon  me 
through  the  merits  of  another." 


TEACHING    OF    THE    BIBLE.  41 

"  I  see  what  you  mean,"  said  Prosonno,  "  but 
while  you  have  been  speaking,  another  thought 
suggested  itself  to  me ;  is  it  right  that  we,  think- 
ing, intellectual  beings,  should  allow  ourselves  to 
receive  any  system  that  contradicts  our  reason  ? 

"  However,  let  us  both  consider  this  subject  until 
we  meet  again,  and  then  we  shall  be  able  to  dis- 
cuss it  fully.  In  the  meantime,  go  on  with  your 
objections  against  Brahmism;  you  must  not,  how- 
ever, suppose  I  have  consented  to  the  doctrine  of 
an  atonement;  I  had  not  thought  the  conversa- 
tion would  take  this  turn,  and  therefore  find  my- 
self unprepared  to  answer  you;  but  I  shall  do  so 
the  next  time  we  meet." 

"And,  my  dear  friend,"  said  Ram  Doyal,  "  I 
shall  pray  God,  that  while  you  are  studying  ob- 
jections against  His  blessed  truth,  He  may  teach 
you  by  His  own  Spirit,  that  He  may  make  all 
things  clear  to  you. 

"  But  to  continue,"  said  Ram  Doyal ;  "  I 
doubted  much  about  Brahmism  when  I  saw  the 
rapid  changes  it  was  undergoing,  just  as  our  lead- 
ers dictated.  At  the  outset,  while  the  modern 
idolatrous  legends  were  rejected,  and  Natural  Re- 
ligion was  sought  after,  the  VEDAS,  our  most  an- 


42  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

cient  books,  were  accepted  as  books  of  authority, 
revealed  from  heaven,  and  teaching  us  divine 
truth.  This  gave  rise,  as  you  know,  to  contro- 
versies with  the  missionaries  and  others;  who, 
among  other  arguments,  objected  to  the  scientific 
teaching  of  our  books.  No  one  could  defend  that 
teaching  even  amongst  ourselves :  it  only  required 
to  be  pointed  out  to  be  disavowed.  In  a  few 
years,  therefore,  the  Vedas  were  given  up  by  our 
educated  young  men  :  regarded,  indeed,  as  most 
interesting  relics  of  the  notions  and  practices  of 
our  forefathers,  but  not  conveying  divine  truth 
from  the  mouth  of  Brahmd. 

"All  this  made  me  doubt  very  much.  I  asked 
myself, l  Who  are  our  leaders  and  teachers ;  where 
is  true  wisdom  :  what  is  our  authority  ?'  We  are 
being  led  by  changeable  and  fallible  men.  Since 
I  left  them,  another  great  change  has  taken  place. 
Not  satisfied  with  the  ordinary  doctrines  of  the 
teaching  of  Nature,  they  have  recently  imported 
from  Europe  and  America  the  doctrine  of  intui- 
tionalism. The  soul  wants  something  fixed,  some 
assurance  about  forgiveness  and  the  future  life ; 
but  these  things  made  me  feel  more  dissatisfied 
than  ever." 


BRAHMISM    COMPROMISED.  43 

"That  was  no  reason  for  embracing  Christian- 
ity," said  Prosonno. 

"True,"  replied  Rdm  Doyal.  "I  became  a 
Christian  because  of  its  truth  ;  but  I  was  on  the 
way  to  it,  when  I  found  Brahmism  could  not  sat- 
isfy me.  It  seemed  to  me  that  we  were  like  a 
company  of  men  in  a  ship  without  charts,  and 
with  a  dark  sky  overhead.  Our  pilots  differed 
among  themselves,  and  we  were  wandering  we 
knew  not  whither. 

"  Besides,  I  was  much  struck  with  the  position 
taken  up  by  the  Brahmists  in  reference  to  HINDOO 
CASTE.  Its  evils  are  numerous,  its  demands  are 
unjust ;  no  other  nation  in  the  world  is  enslaved 
by  it  except  ourselves :  and  large  numbers  of  the 
Brahmists  acknowledge  it  to  be  an  evil  thing. 
Yet  I  did  not  find  any  one  ready  to  adopt  plans 
for  getting  rid  of  it. 

"  It  was  the  same  with  IDOLATRY.  We  were 
all  professing  a  belief  that  there  is  one  God.  Our 
gods,  then,  are  not  gods ;  they  have  no  existence ; 
their  images  are  images  of  nothing:  and  their 
worship  is  a  lie.  It  is  an  insult  to  that  one  true 
God  to  worship  them  instead  of  Him.  And  yet 
I  siiw  the  Brahmists  doing  it  every  day.  I  had 


44  LIFE    BY    THE    GANGES. 

to  do  it  so  long  as  I  remained  at  home.  You 
have  to  do  it,  Prosonno ;  our  friends  Kessub  and 
Kasi,  and  a  hundred  others,  do  it,  as  you  know. 
And  so  we  were  all  helping  to  maintain  it.  We, 
the  educated  men  of  the  new  generation,  who 
though*  ourselves  wiser  and  better  than  others, 
were  doing  our  part  to  uphold  idolatry  and  caste, 
two  of  the  worst  institutions  ever  maintained  in 
any  country  of  the  world. 

"I  felt  ashamed  of  myself  for  doing  so.  I 
knew  we  were  afraid  of  our  relatives;  we  re- 
spected the  opinions  and  practices  of  our  fathers, 
but  I  felt  that  we  ought  to  respect  truth  more. 
We  ought  to  honor  God  above  men,  and  share  in 
nothing  that  dishonors  Him.  I  wanted,  therefore, 
to  be  a  MAN  in  courage  and  in  faithfulness,  a  fol- 
lower of  truth  always,  even  in  peril. 

"Feeling  this,  I  read  witii  new  interest  the 
story  of  the  New  Testament,  and  found  there  all 
my  desires  strengthened  and  increased  by  the  ex- 
ample of  the  early  Christians.  Gradually  I  found 
that  in  other  things  Christ,  who  had  put  these 
thoughts  in  me,  satisfied  all  my  wants.  I  fol- 
lowed the  truth  He  taught  me  to  love;  and  so 
here  I  am,  a  CHRISTIAN." 


PROSONNO    RECEIVES   A   BIBLE.  4t) 

Prosonno.was  deeply  impressed  with  the  earn- 
estness of  his  friend,  whose  manly  spirit  greatly 
stirred  his  own.  But  before  the  conversation 
could  be  carried  further,  Nobo  asked  his  brother 
whether  he  remembered  that  this  evening  had 
been  appointed  for  a  visit  from  his  father  :n-law. 

"  No,"  said  Prosonno,  "I  have  not  forgotten  it ; 
but  it  surely  is  not  late  yet.  What  is  the  hour, 
Ram  Doyal?" 

Rdm  Doyal  said  it  wanted  but  five  minutes  to 
nine  o'clock.  Hearing  this,  both  the  visitors  at 
once  rose  to  take  a  hasty  though  kind  leave  of 
their  entertainer.  Before  they  went,  however, 
Prosonno  took  Rdm  Doyal  a  little  aside,  and  said, 
"  I  wish,  R&m  Doyal,  you  would  lend  me  a 
Bible ;  I  should  like  to  examine  it  carefully  at 
home." 

"  Is  it  possible  that,  in  these  days  of  enlighten- 
ment, you  have  never  read  that  blessed  book?" 
exclaimed  his  friend. 

"  No,"  said  Prosonno,  "  I  am  ashamed  to  say  I 
have  not  read  it ;  at  least,  not  as  it  ought  to  be 
read,  though  I  once  did  take  a  peep  into  the  Old 
Testament  history,  and  was  very  much  interested 
by  it." 


46  LIFE   BY    THE   GANGES. 

"  Will  you  have  an  English  or  Bengalee  copy  1" 
asked  Ram  Doyal. 

"On  the  whole,  I  think  I  should  prefer  the 
Bengalee,"  replied  Prosonno;  "ideas  sound  so 
much  sweeter  in  one's  own  language  than  in  a 
foreign  tongue." 

"I  quite  agree  with  you,"  said  R&m  Doyal,  as 
he  handed  to  Prosonno  a  Bengalee  Bible.  "  May 
God  grant  you  wisdom  and  grace  to  read  it 
aright." 

As  the  two  brothers  walked  home,  their  minds 
\vere  exercised  in  a  very  different  manner.  Pro- 
souno's  was  filled  with  conflicting  emotions. 
"Could  Brahmism  be  untrue? — had  it  really  no 
fixed  base  to  rest  on? — wras  it  so  uncertain  in  its 
teaching? — and  were  its  followers  actually  the 
upholders  of  the  gross  idolatry  around  them? 
Was  it  a  system  that  could  not  satisfy  the  mind 
respecting  that  all-important  doctrine,  the  forgive- 
ness of  sins  ?  The  Christian  atonement,  again ! 
how  strange  its  teaching,  that  God  had  laid  upon 
another,  an  innocent  being,  the  suffering  that  sin- 
ners deserved !  Was  it  not  too  wonderful  to  be 
true?  The  Son  of  Goc"  to  die  for  perishing  sin- 


PROSONNO'S    FATHER.  47 

ners !  That  indeed  would  be  a  love  which  passes 
comprehension." 

Such  were  the  musings  which  occupied  Pro- 
sonno  by  the  way ;  and  as  he  thought  of  these 
things,  he  remained  silent;  for  he  knew  his 
brother  could  not  have  entered  into  his  feelings. 
Nobo,  on  the  contrary,  was  full  of  life  and  spi- 
rits, had  evidently  quite  forgotten  the  conversa- 
tion, and  was  amusing  himself  with  their  friend's 
new  style  of  dress. 

When  the  young  men  reached  home,  they  found 
their  evening  meal  waiting  for  them,  and  their 
father,  mother,  and  grandmother  engaged  in  deep 
consultation, — a  thing  rather  unusual  in  a  Hin- 
doo family.  Mohendro  was  the  first  to  break  the 
silence.  "Do  you  know,  Prosonno,"  he  said, 
"  that  your  father-in-law  has  been  here  this  eve- 
ning, and  that  we  have  completed  the  arrange- 
ments for  your  re-marriage  ?  It  must  take  place 
at  the  expiration  of  four  days."  By  this  re- 
marriage is  meant  the  ceremony  that  consigns  the 
wife  to  her  husband's  keeping.  A  girl  generally 
has  been  a  bride  for  six  or  seven  years  when  this 
takes  place,  during  which  time  she  has  resided  in 
the  house  of  her  father,  having  been  hitherto  but 


48  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

a  child.  Should  it  so  happen  that  her  husband 
die  before  her  re-marriage  is  completed,  she  is  still 
considered  a  widow,  in  the  fullest  sense  of  the 
word,  undergoes  every  privation  enjoined  on  the 
state  of  widowhood  by  the  Shastres,  and  can  never 
marry  again. 

"  But  why  have  you  been  so  long  absent  to- 
night ?"  continued  Mohendro ;  "  do  you  know 
that  I  am  seriously  displeased  with  you?  I 
thought  you  knew  your  duty  to  your  father-in-law 
better  than  to  neglect  him  in  this  manner.  Pray, 
where  have  you  been,  Prosonno  ?" 

"  I  wanted  a  book  from  a  friend  of  mine,  and 
have  been  to  his  house  to  fetch  it,"  replied  Pro- 
sonno. 

"A  sufficiently  evasive  answer,  in  all  conscience," 
retorted  the  father.  "  Now,  will  you  be  so  good 
as  to  tell  me  who  this  friend  of  yours  is,  and 
what  is  the  name  of  the  book,  and  why  you  were 
three  hours  fetching  it  from,  I  dare  say,  (if  the 
truth  were  known,)  the  next  street." 

Poor  Prosonno  trembled  from  head  to  foot.  He 
could  not  bear  the  idea  of  resigning  his  Bible,  and 
he  did  not  like  to  tell  a  falsehood ;  he,  therefore, 
hesitated,  trying  to  concoct  an  answer  which 


HIS  FATHER'S  ANGER.  49 

might  be  strictly  true,  and  yet  not  betray  his  se- 
cret. This  agitation  was  observed  by  the  father, 
and,  of  course,  made  matters  ten  times  worse. 
Fortunately,  however,  as  Prosonno  thought,  his 
brother  came  to  his  aid,  saying,  "O  father,  the 
young  man  we  went  to  see  lives  very  far  from 
here,  so  that  a  great  part  of  the  time  of  our  ab- 
sence was  occupied  in  the  walk  to  and  from  his 
house." 

"But  who  is  he?"  persisted  Mohendro. 

"Oh!"  replied  Nobo,  "he  has  been  brought  up 
a  Brahmist,  but  has  lately  begun  to  read  the  book 
of  the  Christians,  and  seems  to  like  it.  Prosonno 
and  myself  were  showing  him  the  absurd  errors 
contained  in  the  system  it  teaches,  and  so  the  time 
slipped  away  without  our  being  aware  of  it." 

"Well,"  said  Mohendro,  appeased  by  this  timely 
interference  of  his  favorite  son,  "  well,  you  were 
better  employed  than  I  had  feared." 

Notwithstanding  this,  Prosonno  was  uncomfort- 
able and  unhappy;  he  felt  that  Nobo  had  con- 
cealed the  great  truth,  that  they  had  been  in  the 
company  of  a  Christian.  Somehow  he  wished 
his  father  to  know  that,  and  was  just  going  to  tell 
him  so,  when  his  brother  signed  to  him  to  remain 


00  LIFE    BY    THE    GANGES. 

quiet.  He  did  so;  but  this  partial  deception 
availed  them  nothing.  Mohendro  had  not  for- 
gotten about  the  book,  having  a  shrewd  suspicion 
of  what  it  really  was;  so,  after  several  vain 
attempts  at  concealment,  the  young  men  were  at 
last  compelled  to  bring  forth  their  hidden  treas- 
ure. Their  father,  enraged  beyond  measure,  first 
dashed  the  book  on  the  ground,  and  then  ordered 
it  into  the  fire.  It  was  soon  consumed  to  ashes. 

Poor  Prosonno! — his  highly  prized  volume 
destroyed !  The  pleasure  he  had  anticipated  that 
very  night,  in  the  secret  perusal  of  its  pages,  van- 
ished like  a  dream! — his  anxiety  to  acquaint  him- 
self with  its  truths  and  its  philosophy  disappointed 
entirely! — and,  above  all,  his  hopes  of  learning 
more  of  a  Saviour's  love  blighted  in  their  first 
buddings !  Altogether,  it  was  more  than  he  could 
bear,  and  he  burst  into  tears.  This  only  tended 
to  make  Mohendro  more  angry.  He  began  to 
fear  that  the  Christian's  book  had  taken  a  greater 
hold1  on  his  son's  affections  than  he  had  thought, 
and  he  reproached  both  the  young  men  with 
every  bitter  epithet  that  occurred  to  his  mind, 
until  they  were  glad  to  leave  their  meal  untasted 
and  retire  to  rest. 


SYMPATHY    OF    HIS    CSRANDMOTHER.  51 

Prosonno  observed  that,  whilst  every  member 
Af  his  family  had  expressed  the  greatest  horror  at 
his  having  brought  a  Bible  into  their  dwelling, 
his  grandmother  alone,  from  whom  he  might 
have  expected  the  strongest  opposition,  made  no 
remark  on  the  heinousness  of  his  crime,  but 
merely  sat  looking  very  sad  at  his  disappoint- 
ment. As  he  went  out  of  the  room,  the  aged 
woman  beckoned  him  aside,  and  said,  with  tears 
in  her  eyes,  "Your  father  has  been  very  cruel  to 
you,  Prosonno;  but  think  no  more  of  your  loss, 
to-morrow  I  will  make  amends  for  it."  Pro- 
sonno thanked  his  grandmother,  to  whom  he  was 
sincerely  attached ;  but,  as  he  went  up  the  stairs, 
he  thought  to  himself,  "  Poor  dear,  I  suppose  she 
will  give  me  some  nice  sweetmeats,  or  cook  me  a 
curry  with  her  own  hands  to-morrow;  she  little 
thinks  that  nothing  she  can  do  can  compensate 
for  my  loss." 

Prosonno  did  not,  indeed,  understand  all  the 
evidences  of  Christianity;  but  he  was  beginning 
to  feel  that  he  must  possess  such  a  religion,  or 
die  everlastingly;  and  this  it  was  that  made  him 
prize  so  highly  a  volume  that  was  useless,  or 
worse  than  useless,  in  the  estimation  of  the  other 


52  LIFE   BY   THE    GANGES. 

inemoers  of  his  family.  He  had,  however,  judged 
wrongly  of  his  grandmother,  for  on  coming  out 
of  his  room  the  next  morning,  she  met  him  with 
a  book  carefully  concealed  in  the  folds  of  her 
dress.  She  slipped  it  into  his  hand,  whispering, 
"Be  sure  you  keep  my  secret,"  and  then  suddenly 
disappeared.  Prosonno  returned  to  his  room, 
astonished;  wondering  what  this  book  would 
prove  to  be,  he  bolted  the  door,  and  began  to 
examine  its  pages.  To  his  inconceivable  delight, 
he  found  it  was  a  Bengalee  New  Testament, — not 
in  the  white  paper,  the  neat  type,  and  elegant 
language  of  his  lost  treasure,  it  was  true,  but  still 
containing  the  same  blessed  truth, — the  love  of 
Christ  to  perishing  sinners.  It  was  the  New 
Testament  bestowed  on  Prosonno's  father  at  Sau- 
gor  Island,  more  than  forty  years  before.  It  was 
the  Testament  accompanied  by  the  prayers  of  a 
man  who  was  now  before  the  throne  of  God,  for 
"  he  had  labored  and  had  not  fainted."  What  a 
striking  verification  of  the  inspired  promise, 
"  Cast  thy  bread  upon  the  waters,  and  thou  shall 
find  it  aftei  many  days!" 

Prosonno  read  and  pondered,  but  there  were 
many  things  that  he  could  not  understand.     Be- 


PROSONNO'S    RE-MARRIAGE.  53 

sides,  during  the  three  following  days,  such  UDU- 
sual  excitement  prevailed  in  the  family,  as  pre- 
vented him  almost  entirely  from  studying  the 
subject,  so  that  he  made  little  or  no  progress  in 
religious  truth.  The  whole  household,  and  more 
particularly  the  women,  were  busied  in  making 
preparations  for  the  reception  of  his  bride,  and 
great  joy  was  expressed  on  every  hand.  Proson- 
no's  mother  and  grandmother  were  delighted  with 
the  prospect  of  receiving  this  new  member  of 
their  family;  why,  we  can  scarcely  tell;  but  it  is 
an  acknowledged  fact,  that  Hindoo  parents  have 
no  greater  pleasure  than  to  see  their  children 
settled  in  life.  The  other  two  daughters-in-law, 
Shoudaminee  and  Nistarinee,  who  were  already 
inhabitants  of  their  husbands'  or  rather  their 
father-in-law's  house,  were  delighted  because  they 
were  to  have  another  companion  to  assist  them 
to  wile  away  the  unemployed  hours  of  the  long 
tedious  mornings.  Nobo  was  delighted,  because 
he  had  heard  that  the  expected  sister-in-law  was 
able  to  read  and  write,  two  most  unusual  accom- 
plishments among  the  ladies  of  their  acquaintance: 
and  the  usages  of  Hindooism  permitting  him,  as 
Prosormo's  younger  brother,  to  hold  free  inter- 


54  LIFE    BY    THE    GANGES. 

course  with  his  wife,  he  looked  forward  with 
much  pleasure  to  conversing  with  and  instructing 
her.  Surjo  Kumar  and  Chondro  Kumar,  on  the 
contrary,  being  Prosonno's  elder  brothers,  were 
strictly  prohibited  from  ever  speaking  to  or  even 
looking  on  the  face  of  his  bride.  Nevertheless, 
they  gladly  took  part  in  the  family  rejoicings. 
Their  father  was  delighted  because  his  daughter- 
in-law  was  a  strict  Hindoo,  and  report  said  she 
passed  much  of  her  time  in  reading  the  Ramayau 
and  Mohabharat;  this,  he  thought,  might  exert  a 
beneficial  influence  on  his  son. 

Prosonno  was  perhaps  the  only  member  of  the 
family  who  was  wholly  unconcerned.  His  bride 
had  been  entirely  his  parent's  choice,  and  though, 
after  the  marriage  ceremony  had  been  performed, 
he  had  occasionally  seen  and  admired  her,  yet 
they  were  both  perfect  strangers  to  each  other's 
thoughts  and  feelings;  nor  did  Prosonno  expect 
to  find  in  her  that  sympathy  of  heart  and 
mind  which  in  other  countries  forms  the  bond  of 
union  between  husband  and  wife.  His  wife  he 
knew  to  be  entirely  uneducated,  a  being  shut  up 
within  the  walls  of  her  father's  Zenana*,  totally 

*  Zenana,  the  apartments  of  the  women. 


THE    BRIDE.  55 

unacquainted  with  everything  beyond  her  own 
narrow  sphere,  unlearned  in  the  principlas  of 
geography  and  history !  What  could  a  spirit  like 
hers  have  in  common  with  his  own?  Poor  Pro- 
sonno !  At  first  these  reflections  made  him  very 
sad,  but  he  banished  them  from  his  mind,  and 
with  some  half  hopeless  resolves  to  try  and  edu- 
cate his  wife,  and  to  make  her  a  fitter  companion 
for  himself,  he  settled  down  into  a  state  of  utter 
indifference  to  the  approaching  ceremony. 

At  length  the  important  day  arrived,  and  Pro- 
gonno  repaired  to  the  house  of  his  father-in-law. 
The  women's  apartments  were  evidently  filled 
with  visitors,  for  he  could  distinctly  hear  their 
shouts  and  merry-makings;  but  no  men  had  been 
invited  to  the  ceremony.  Soon  after  his  arrival, 
Prosonno  was  placed  in  a  room  by  himself,  where 
he  was  joined  by  his  bride,  KAMINEE,  a  lovely 
girl  of  fourteen.  She  was  tall  and  graceful,  pos- 
sessing a  regular  profile,  with  large,  deep  black 
eyes,  high  forehead,  and  long  silken  eyelashes. 
Her  beautiful  hair,  which  in  its  natural  state 
flowed  down  almost  to  her  feet,  was  now  neatly 
braided  with  sweet  scented  oil,  and  ornamented 
with  vermillion.  Her  expression  was  soft  and 


56  LIFE    J3Y    THE    GANGES. 

sweet,  and  her  voice  gentleness  itself.  She  was 
literally  covered  with  jewels.  On  the  same  wrist 
she  wore  'three  varieties  of  bracelets;  round  her 
neck  was  a  chain  of  gold  and  a  necklace  of  pearls; 
her  hair,  too,  was  decorated  with  a  head-dress  of 
gold  and  precious  stones;  the  nose  and  ears  had 
ornaments  of  gold,  the  latter  in  the  shape  of  a 
passion  flower,  each  stamen  terminating  in  a 
bright  gem.  A  little  above  the  elbow  were  two 
curiously  wrought  armlets  of  gold ;  and  on  the  feet 
simple  ornaments  of  silver.  The  Hindoos  have 
a  superstition  that  if  they  degrade  gold  so  far  as 
to  wear  it  on  their  feet,  they  will  live  to  be  in 
need  of  that  precious  commodity. 

When  Kaminee  entered  the  room,  she  looked 
pale  and  tired,  and  cast  a  timid  glance  at  her 
future  lord.  No  wonder,  poor  young  creature; 
she  had  been  the  day  before  initiated  into  one  of 
the  most  disgusting  practices  of  heathenism,  a 
practice  which  the  heathen  themselves  blush  to 
speak  of,  but  which  is  nevertheless  carried  out  at 
the  present  day  in  every  Hindoo  household,  both 
rich  and  poor,  high  and  low,  on  the  lay  previous 
to  the  re-marriage  of  any  of  its  female  members. 

A  detail  of  that  ceremony  may  not  be  written ; 


THE    MARRIAGE   CEREMONY.  57 

suffice  it  to  say  that  Kaminee's  female  lelatives, 
together  with  some  of  their  neighbors,  had  as- 
sembled themselves  within  a  private  court-yard; 
they  had  there  dug  a  hole  in  the  ground,  placed 
her  in  the  middle,  and  each  one  had  besprinkled 
her  and  themselves  with  a  mixture  of  mud  and 
saffron,  at  the  same  time  giving  vent  to  every 
variety  of  coarse,  vulgar  jest,  and  improper  ex- 
pression; singing  the  most  degrading  songs,  and 
dancing  round  the  bride  like  insane  persons, 
assisted  by  women  whose  very  presence  ought  tc 
have  been  considered  contamination!  But  we 
need  go  no  further.  Could  there  be  a  more 
striking  proof  that  the  cruel  seclusion  in  which 
the  women  of  India  are  compelled  to  pass  their 
lives,  has  not  contributed  to  the  preservation  of 
that  purity  of  heart  and  mind  which  is  the  only 
safeguard  against  sin? 

But  to  return.  When  all  parties  were  ready, 
Prosonno  and  his  wife  were  informed  that  the 
priest  who  was  for  a  second  time  to  unite  them 
was  standing  outside  the  door.  He  then  repeated 
the  following  sacred  text,  presenting  at  the  same 
time  an  offering  of  alloa-rice,  flowers,  Granges 
water,  and  sandal- wood,  "O  thou  glorious  Sun, 


58  LIFE    BY    THE    GANGES 

God  himself,  Light  of  the  world,  Power  of  Vish- 
noo,  Lord  of  the  universe,  pure  spirit,  bestower 
of  the  ability  to  labor,  thou  of  the  thousand  rays, 
receive  our  offerings,  and  be  gracious  unto  us." 

This  text  Prosonno  repeated  after  him,  stand- 
ing on  the  inner  side  of  the  closed  door.  He 
then  proceeded  with  several  other  texts,  the  bride 
and  bridegroom,  meanwhile,  following  his  di- 
rections,— such  as  joining  hands,  touching  each 
other's  heads,  and  the  like.  The  ceremony  was 
concluded  by  a  prayer,  which  will  not  bear  inser- 
tion. Could  we  at  that  moment  have  looked 
into  the  secret  recesses  of  Prosonno's  heart,  we 
should  have  seen  that  his  growing  dislike  to 
Hindooism  had  settled,  owing  to  the  events  of 
that  day,  into  a  deep  aversion.  He  felt  that  a 
system  whose  very  religion  was  connected  with  so 
much  that  was  impure,  could  not  have  emanated 
from  the  fountain  of  holiness,  and  purity,  and 
truth. 

After  the  marriage  ceremony  had  been  per- 
formed, great  rejoicing  took  place,  and  a  splendid 
entertainment,  which  was  prepared  by  his  father- 
in-kw,  was  served  to  the  female  visitors.  The 
bride  and  bridegroom  then  took  their  leave. 


TAKING   LEAVE. 


59 


The  former  was  conveyed  in  a  covered  palanquin, 
in  which  she  was  quietly  placed  before  the  bear- 
ers were  called  to  lift  it ;  so  that  neither  they  nor 
any  other  person  might  look  upon  her  beauty. 
She  was  now  going,  according  to  the  usages  of 
Hindooism,  to  be  subjected  to  even  closer  con- 
finement than  had  been  her  lot  under  the  parental 
roof. 


CHAPTER    III. 

THE  house  to  which  our  bride  had  been  intro- 
duced was  built  in  the  fashion  of  most  Hin- 
doo houses.  The  reader  must  imagine  himself  in 
a  fine  open  court-yard  of  fifty  feet  square.  He 
enters  from  the  south,  and  opposite  him  is  the 
DALAN  or  sanctuary  for  public  festivals,  such  as  for 
the  Durga  Pooja,  the  Kali,  or  the  Kartick  Pooja. 
This  Dalan  is  considerably  raised  from  the  ground 
and  is  reached  from  the  court-yard  by  a  flight 
of  steps.  It  contains  various  images,  which  are 
covered  with  dust,  and  seem  quite  neglected.  On 
festival  days,  however,  they  are  cleaned  and  dec- 
orated with  all  kinds  of  tinsel-ornaments.  All 
around  the  open  court  is  a  narrow  covered  veran- 
dah, called  ch6k  melon,  and  beyond  this  is  a 
double  row  of  small  rooms.  These  contain  the 
parlors  and  drawing-rooms,  and  also  the  sleeping 
apartments  for  the  single  men  of  the  family. 
The  whole  of  this  part  01'  the  house  is  called 

60 


THE   FAMILY   HOUSE.  61 

sodor  ghor,  or  principal  house,  and  is  all  that  ever 
meets  the  eye  of  a  stranger.  Beyond  the  Dalan, 
to  the  north  of  it,  there  is  another  court,  similar 
to  the  one  described,  containing  also  verandahs 
and  barrack-like  apartments.  This  is  called  the 
Antohpur,  or  house  of  the  women,  and  commu- 
nicates by  a  private  passage  with  the  court  of  the 
principal  house,  that  females  who  cannot  appear 
in  that  court  may  still  come  unobserved  for  reli- 
gious purposes  to  the  Dalan.  They  are  by  no 
means  allowed  to  frequent  it,  even  at  the  time  of 
great  poojas,  their  own  Zenana  containing  the  Tha- 
koor  ghor,  or  room  for  household  gods.  This  is  a 
constant  sanctuary,  and  is  visited  daily,  but  at 
different  hours,  by  the  male  and  female  members 
of  a  family,  or,  at  least,  by  such  of  them  as  are 
in  the  habit  of  performing  daily  worship.  The 
remaining  rooms  contain  the  kitchens,  dormito- 
ries, and  dining-rooms.  The  women  may  meet  in 
these  private  halls  and  verandahs,  but  are  never 
expected  to  tread  the  outer  court,  or  the  rooms 
adjoining  it. 

Such  was  the  dwelling  which  acknowledged 
Mohendro  as  its  proprietor.  There  were  two 
stories  to  it, — the  second  story  exactly  like  tho 


62  LIFE    BY    THE    GANGES. 

ground  floor,  excepting  that  the  Dalan  was  undi- 
vided, its  roof  constituting  the  highest  roof  of 
the  building,  and  thus  imparting  an  air  of  gran- 
deur not  possessed  by  the  other  parts.  If  it  con- 
tained many  rooms,  there  were  also  many  inhab- 
itants to  occupy  them;  for  every  Hindoo  .of  pro- 
perty is  bound  to  afford  lodging  to,  and  often  to 
support,  a  numerous  class  of  relatives.  The 
widows  of  a  family,  however  distant  their  rela- 
tionship, generally  claim  the  support  of  that 
member  of  the  family  whom  they  think  most  ca- 
pable of  affording  them  aid. 

Mohendro  was  not  one  to  set  aside  these  an- 
cient usages.  Accordingly,  he  was  generously 
supporting  his  mother's  sister,  and  a  younger  sis- 
ter of  his  father's;  a  widow  of  a  cousin,  and  the 
widowed  daughter-in-law  of  his  sister;  an  aunt 
of  his  wife's,  and  the  widow  of  his  brother;  in 
addition  to  his  own  mother,  to  whom  he  paid  all 
the  filial  duty  which  her  relationship  claimed. 
Mohendro's  brother,  as  a  matter  of  course,  with 
his  family,  was  an  inhabitant  of  the  parent-house. 
Our  readers  may  remember  the  little  infant 
snatched  from  an  untimely  grave.  Nearly  fifty 
summers  had  since  then  passed  over  his  brow,  and 


KAMlNEE   AND    HER   STUDIES.  63 

he  was  still  living  in  the  full  piide  of  manhood, 
with  two  sons  growing  up  beside  him.  His  wife 
had  died  in  giving  birth  to  the  youngest,  and  he 
had  not  filled  her  place  with  another.  An  or- 
phan cousin  was  another  inmate  of  the  house. 
Mohendro  treated  him  with  the  greatest  kindness; 
and  at  the  time  of  which  we  write,  he  was  mak- 
ing preparations  for  his  wedding,  which  was  to 
cost  an  immense  sum  of  money.  His  own  four 
sons  came  next;  three  of  these  had  wives.  Surjo 
Kumar  had  two  children,  and  Chondro  had  one; 
and,  finally,  there  was  Mohendro's  little  girl, 
Hemlota,  his  wife,  and  himself,  making  in  all 
twenty-four  persons.  Servants  there  were  be- 
sides. 

It  might  have  been  about  three  months  after 
Prosonno's  marriage,  that  Shoudaminee,  Surjo 
Kumar's  wife,  was  one  day  sitting  listlessly  in  the 
verandah,  with  her  baby,  named  Gopal,  sleeping 
on  the  floor  beside  her,  when  Kaminee  came  out 
of  her  room,  with  her  Ramayan  in  her  hand,  and 
taking  her  seat  on  the  floor,  with  the  verandah 
rails  for  a  back,  she  began  to  read  aloud,  or  rather 
chant,  the  words  of  the  epic  poem,  in  that  peculi- 
arly slow,  monotonous  tone,  used  by  Hindoos  for 


I 

64  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

all  poetry.  She  had  no  sooner  sat  down,  than 
Shoudaminee  exclaimed :  "  O  Karaiuee,  I  am  re- 
minded by  that  book  that  Gopal's  father*  desired 
me  to  ask  you  to  teach  me  to  perform  the  worship 
of  Siva.  I  see  you  perform  it  every  morning, 
and  he  wishes  me  to  do  the  same." 

"You  had  better  learn  to  read  the  texts  for 
yourself,  sister;  shall  I  teach  you?  You  will 
then  be  able  to  perform  all  the  kinds  of  worship 
enjoined  in  the  Shastres." 

"Oh,  dear,  no,  Kaminee,"  replied  Shoudami- 
nee, "Gopal's  father  would  be  very  angry  if  I 
learnt  to  read.  How  could  I  attend  to  the  chil- 
dren; besides,  no  one  in  our  family  ever  learnt, 
and  I  am  not  going  to  be  the  first  to  begin.  I 
should  certainly  expect  some  dreadful  calamity  to 
befall  me,  if  I  went  contrary  to  all  the  usages  of 
my  forefathers. 

Kaminee  was  quite  tired  of  combating  this  ar- 
gument, which,  in  one  way  or  another,  she  heard 
every  day  of  her  life;  so  she  merely  smiled  and 
said,  "Well,  sister,  I  suppose  I  must  teach  you 
the  texts  in  the  same  way  that  you  heard  me 

*  Her  eon's  father,  her  husband,  whose  name  she  will  not 
•peak. 


FAMILY    JARS.  65 

teach  my  parrot  this  morning.     When  shall  we 
begin?" 

"Now,  if  you  like,"  replied  Shoudaminee;  "I 
think  baby  will  sleep  a  long  time,  and  we  shall 
not  be  disturbed.     But  stay;  let  me  call  Nistari-. 
nee :  she  ought  to  learn  the  Siva  Pooja  worship 
too." 

Chondro's  wife  was,  however,  greatly  offended 
with  poor  Kaminee  and  declined  to  come.  Mo- 
hendro  had  brought  the  latter  home  a  beautiful 
dress  in  the  morning,  because  she  had  been  getting 
rather  melancholy  of  late,  and  spoke  of  wishing  to 
see  her  own  mother  once  more;  and  he  thought  this 
little  attention  might  please  and  divert  her.  But 
Nistarinee  called  all  her  melancholy  mere  affecta- 
tion, and  because  she  had  not  received  a  dress 
similar  to  Kaminee's,  she  had  insinuated  that 
Kaminee  was  a  designing,  artful  woman,  and  had 
also  vented  her  wrath  on  her  father-in-law,  as  far 
as  she  dared,  by  the  sarcastic  applitjation  of  the 
Bengalee  proverb:  "In  this  house,  seemingly,  it 
is  the  child  that  cries  that  gets  the  rice."  The 
quarrel  had  become  high ;  and  it  was  only  by  the 
authoritative  interference  of  Prosonno's  grand- 
mother, that  the  disputants  were  pacified. 


00  LIFE    BY    THE    GANGES. 

This  partial  reconciliation  had  taken  place  only 
a  couple  of  hours  before.  Shoudaminee  now 
called  on  her  sister  to  become  Kaminee's  pupil : 
and,  as  the  reader  may  naturally  suppose,  it  did 
.not  tend  to  strengthen  their  forced  union. 

"  I  think  you  have  all  taken  leave  of  your 
senses,"  exclaimed  Nistarinee;  "you  too,  sister; 
what  do  you  mean  by  sitting  at  the  feet  of  that 
girl,  who  came  among  us  only  the  other  day,  and 
has  already  prejudiced  us  so  much  in  the  opin- 
ion of  our  husbands'  father,  that  we  must  be  put 
oif  with  fair  words  while  she  gets  all  the  presents? 
Learn  the  Siva  Pooja  of  her  forsooth !  I  tell  you, 
sister,  we  are  much  better  without  either  her  or 
her  instructions.  What  with  her  poojas  and  her 
reading,  she  is  so  conceited  that  there  is  no  bear- 
ing with  her.  But  she  will  learn  wisdom  in 
time!  Wait  till  she  begins  to  take  her  share  in 
the  cooking :  she  will  find  that  a  text  does  not 
make  the  best  spice  for  a  curry;  or,  at  least,  her 
husband  will  find  it  out,  if  she  does  not,  and  then 
she  won't  like  what  will  follow!  When  her 
children  come  it  will  be  still  worse.  I  suppose 
she  will  be  reading  a  chapter  in  the  Ramayan  to 


FAMILY   JARS  67 

the  baby,  when  it  cries  for  milk,  or  repeating  the 
name  of  Siva  by  way  of  a  lullaby." 

"For  shame,  Nistarinee,"  said  Shoudaminee; 
"see,  you  have  made  poor  Kaminee  weep,  how 
can  you  do  so?  Besides,  what  you  say  is  disre- 
spectful to  the  gods.  You  had  better  go  away 
and  hold  your  peace  until  you  have  forgotten  this 
unfortunate  cause  of  quarrel." 

Nistarinee  walked  into  her  own  room,  mutter- 
ing that  if  her  elder  sister,  who  had  always  been 
her  friend,  was  now  going  to  turn  against  her,  she 
would  not  stand  it;  no,  she  would  run  away,  com- 
mit suicide,  take  poison. 

But  Shoudaminee  knew  her  better  than  to  be- 
lieve all  this,  nor  was  she  going  to  turn  against  her. 
Of  a  most  amiable  and  imperturbable  nature  her- 
self, she  always  made  every  allowance  for  Nistari- 
nee's  impetuous  temper,  and  on  this  occasion,  as 
on  every  other,  endeavored  to  restore  happiness 
and  peace. 

"Come,  Kaminee,"  she  said,  wiping  away  her 
tears,  "you  must  not  mind  Nistarinee's  hard 
speeches ;  she  will  be  sorry  to-morrow ;  come,  be- 
gin your .  instructions,  I  am  all  attention  :  for  I 


68  LIFE   BY    THE   GANGES. 

reully  wish  to  please  G«.  pal's  father  by  learning  to 
perform  that  pooja." 

Kaminee  was  much  comforted  by  her  sister's 
kindness,  and  readily  complied  with  her  request. 
"Listen,  then,  sister,"  she  said. 

"  In  the  Siva  Pooja,  the  first  thing  to  be  done 
is  this,  you  take  some  of  the  Granges  mud  into 
your  hand  and  say  this  text :  This  earth  I  take 
possession  of.  Then  form  the  figure  of  Siva,  and 
placing  it  upon  the  upper  side  of  a  leaf  from  the 
Bel  tree,  (which  tree  is  his  peculiar  delight,)  re- 
peat this — Holder  of  tJte  Sacred  Trident,  come  into 
this  image,  and  abide  in  it  while  I  worship.  It 
then  becomes  Siva  himself.  But  he  will  not  ac- 
cept your  offerings  until  you  have  paid  adoration 
to  four  other  classes  of  deities;  and  for  this  pur- 
pose you  must  learn  first  the  montro  which  begins 
with  Ganesh.  It  consists  of  five  sacred  names, — • 
viz.,  Ganesh,  Surjo,  Durgd,  Vishnoo,  and  all  the 
goddesses  in  one.  As  you  repeat  each  name,  a 
flower  must  be  placed  on  the  image  of  Siva  before 
you.  The  nine  planets  next  claim  your  homage; 
and  as  you  call  on  them  successively,  you  offer,  as 
oefore,  a  flower  on  Siva's  shrine.  The  worship 
of  the  lords  of  the  eight  minor  points  of  the  com- 


THE  WORSHIP   OF   SIVA.  69 

pass  comes  next  in  order.  In  concluding  this 
part  of  the  service,  you  worship  Ononto,  the  lord 
of  the  lower  regions,  and  Sri  Krishnoo,  the  lord 
of  the  upper  regions,  by  calling  out  their  names 
and  offering  flowers. 

"The  Siva  Poojah  itself  may  now  be  com- 
menced ;  it  is  done  in  the  following  manner : — 
You  offer  a  flower  on  the  image,  and  then,  placing 
it  on  your  own  head,  you  must  meditate  on  these 
words,  which  are  enjoined  by  the  Shastres,  and  are 
called  the  Dhydn,  or  Contemplation  of  Siva. 

"  He  is  the  being  with  three  eyes,  fair  as  moun- 
tains of  silver  ;  the  beauteous  moon  is  the  ornament 
of  his  forehead,  and  his  face  is  as  brilliant  gems. 
A  being  with  four  hands,  he  dispenses  favors  with 
one ;  drives  away  fear  from  the  heart  of  man  with 
another;  therefore  he  is  calltd  Obhoy  (the  Fearless.) 
In  the  third  hand  he  holds  an  axe,  and  tlie  fourth 
rests  upon  a  beautiful  deer.  Excellent  in  nature, 
he  is  the  giver  of  blessings  to  his  worshippers.  He 
sits  upon  the  water-lily,  and  all  the  gods  from  the 
four  corners  of  Jieaven  fall  down  to  pay  him  due 
homage.  Tiger  skins  form  his  clothing.  He  is  the 
first  existing,  the  beginning  and  former  of  our  being. 


70  LIFE    BY   THE   GANGES. 

having  five  faces  and  th.  'ee  eyes.  He  is  the  lord  of 
tlie  world. 

"  After  you  have  said  these  words  to  yourself, 
slowly  and  thoughtfully,  take  the  flowers  off  your 
head,  arid  placing  another  on  the  head  of  Siva, 
repeat  the  same  words  once  more,  keeping  your 
heart  steadily  fixed  on  the  object  of  your  worship. 

"  This  meditation  concluded,  you  have  now  to 
entertain  our  great  deity  in  the  same  way  as  we 
entertain  any  other  distinguished  guest.  This  is 
done  by  the  performance  of  seven  different  acts. 
The  first  is  Padhao.  In  order  to  do  this  aright, 
you  take  a  little  water  in  your  kosa,  (the  copper 
vessel,  used  only  for  religious  purposes),  and  offer 
it  to  the  image,  as  water  to  wash  his  feet.  The 
second  act  is  OrgJio,  and  corresponds  with  our 
setting  refreshments  before  a  visitor  after  we  have 
given  him  water  for  his  feet.  In  an  offering  to 
Siva,  this  refreshment  must  consist  of  grass,  alloa 
rice,  flowers,  Ganges  water,  and  sandal- wood. 
The  third  is  Auchmony.  You  now  offer  water  to 
wash  the  hands  in.  The  fourth  act  is  Gondo- 
pushpo,  or  perfuming.  In  this  case  the  usual  of- 
fering is  again  sandal-wood.  The  fifth  is  DAoop, 
when  you  burn  incense  before  the  image.  The 


KAMINEE   SUPERSTITIOUS.  71 

sixth  act  is  Dip,  or  presenting  him  with  a  lighted 
lamp ;  and  the  seventh  and  last  is  the  Noibedyo, 
an  offering  consisting  of  sweetmeats,  alloa  rice, 
fruits,  and  the  like. 

"  After  this  you  must  worship  Siva  under  his 
eight  different  forms.  This  completed,  pronounce 
the  name  of  Siva  ten  times,  and,  prostrating  your- 
self on  the  ground,  offer  up  this  prayer : — T/tou 
art  the  only  self-existing  power  ;  thou  hast  no  equal ; 
thou  alone  art  my  salvation;  receive  my  worship, 
and  bestow  favors  upon  me. 

"  The  service  is  now  concluded,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  ceremony  which  gives  great  delight  to 
Siva.  This  consists  in  making  all  sorts  of  noises, 
such  as  clapping  the  hands,  slapping  the  cheeks, 
knocking  both  feet  together,  and  at  the  same  time 
accompanying  the  noise  with  Bom,  Bom,  Maha- 
deo  ;  Bom,  Bom,  over  and  over  again." 

Shoudaminee  thought  that  the  worship  of  Siva 
was  rather  difficult,  and  that  it  would  require 
many  days  for  her  to  learn  all  the  texts  or  mon- 
tros  by  heart,  especially  as  they  were  to  be  said 
in  Sanskrit,  an  unknown  tongue;  but  Kaminee 
cheerfully  consented  to  give  her  a  daily  lesson, 
and  so  the  matter  was  arranged.  At  that  moment 


72  LIFE  BY  THE   GANGES. 

Prosonno  came  out  of  his  room,  and  beckoned  to 
his  wife.  "See,  sister,"  she  said,  "I  must  go 
now ;  your  brother-in-law  is  calling  me  to  get  him 
his  tiffin,"*  and  with  that  she  went. 

Prosonno  had  become  much  more  attached  to 
Kaminee  than  he  had  expected  to  be;  for  she  was 
very  sweet-tempered,  and,  although  uneducated, 
was  naturally  so  intelligent,  that  a  little  teaching 
was  sufficient  to  make  her  comprehend  most  of 
the  subjects  he  wished  her  to  be  acquainted  with. 
She,  too,  loved  him  much,  and  looked  up  to  him 
as  a  model  of  perfection.  There  was  one  thing, 
however,  that  pained  Prosonno;  his  wife  was 
wholly  given  to  idolatry.  Possessed  of  a  remark- 
ably clear  judgment,  and  sound  common  sense  in 
all  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life,  in  the  matter  of 
religion  she  appeared  to  him  perfectly  astray. 
The  most  horrid  dogma,  provided  it  was  to  be 
found  in  the  Shastres,  never  caused  her  a  shudder. 
The  intensely  childish  ceremony  obtained  from 
her  no  look  of  contempt.  The  utter  absurdity  of 
many  a  history  professing  to  be  inspired,  provoked 
no  smile  of  unbelief,  and  the  grossest  impurity 
passed  with  h  ?r  for  sound  religious  truth. 

*  Tiffin-lunch. 


HUSBAND   AND   WIFE.  73 

Prosonno  did  not  know  what  to  think ;  for  he 
scarcely  understood,  at  that  time  that  Kaminee's 
mind  was  but  enveloped  in  the  mist  of  darkness 
and  ignorance  in  which  Satan  loves  to  keep  his 
votaries ;  whilst  his  own  had  been  gradually  en- 
lightened by  the  Spirit  of  all  truth  !  Prosonno 
was  almost  a  Christian  !  His  marriage  had  been 
the  means  of  procuring  him  more  liberty  than 
before,  and  he  gladly  availed  himself  of  it  to  pay 
frequent  visits  to  his  Christian  friend  Rdm  Doyal. 
One  by  one  his  objections  to  Christianity  had  been 
removed,  while  he  had  become  daily  more  wearied 
of  the  cold  and  formal  worship  of  the  Brahma 
Sabha,  its  monotonous  inculcation  of  moral  prin- 
ciples, and  its  constant  panegyrics  of  the  works 
of  nature. 

Prosonno  had  an  unprejudiced  mind.  He  was 
earnestly  and  sincerely  seeking  after  the  truth; 
therefore  arguments  such  as  those  presented  by 
his  friend,  Rdm  Doyal,  did  not  fail  to  produce 
conviction.  Yet  it  was  not  that  he  was  merely 
intellectually  convinced;  it  was  that  Christ  him- 
self was  drawing  him  with  cords  of  love;  it  was 
that  Prosonno  knew  the  burden  of  his  own  sins 
and  felt  the  need  of  a  Saviour. 


14  LIFE   BY  THE   GANGES. 

One  of  the  great  fruits  of  our  holy  religion  is, 
ihat  it  makes  us  deeply  solicitous  for  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  others,  and  this  was  already  displayed 
in  the  conduct  of  our  young  disciple.  He  was 
most  anxious  to  win  over  his  wife  to  the  faith  of 
Jesus.  To  have  broached  the  subject  directly 
would  have  been  only  to  provoke  the  most  violent 
opposition,  and  probably  to  have  deprived  him- 
self of  the  pleasure  and  profit  of  visiting  his 
Christian  friend,  Ram  Doyal;  he  used,  therefore, 
in  speaking  to  Kaminee,  all  sorts  of  indirect 
means  to  inculcate  the  principles  of  Christianity; 
but  perhaps  he  had  never  gone  so  far  as  on  the 
present  occasion. 

The  reader  will  remember  we  left  Kaminee 
obeying  her  husband's  call.  As  she  entered  the 
room  he  hastily  closed  the  New  Testament  given 
him  by  his  grandmother,  which  had  been  to  him 
of  the  greatest  assistance  in  his  spiritual  life- 
The  fifth  chapter  of  Romans  was  the  part  he  had 
been  studying,  and  with  his  heart  full  of  the 
subject  he  said  to  his  wife;  "Come,  Kaminee,  sit 
down,  and  let  us  have  tiffin  together  for  once; 
no  one  will  see  us,  and  I  am  sure  you  are  wiser 
than  to  think  any  harm  will  come  of  it.  I  wish 


OUTLINE   OF   CHRISTIANITY.  75 

to  talk  with  you  about  a  book  I  have  been  read- 
ing." 

Kaininee  was  always  pleased  and  flattered  by 
her  husband  treating  her  as  a  companion,  and 
took  her  seat  with  a  smiling  face. 

"Do  you  know,  Kamiuee,  if  there  are  any  re- 
ligions in  the  world  besides  our  own?" 

"Yes,"  replied  his  wife;  "there  is  Mohamme- 
danism." 

"So  there  is,"  said  Prosonno;  "but  there  is  yet 
another;  and  it  is  that  religion  of  which  I  have 
been  reading.  It  teaches  us  that  all  men  are  sin- 
ners, Kaminee." 

+  "  Well,"  returned  his  wife,  "  I  think  that  may 
be  true;  for  indeed  how  seldom  we  see  a  man  or 
a  woman  who  never  commits  sin.  It  is  well  for 
us,* that  the  gods  have  appointed  different  works 
of  merit  which  are  not  very  difficult,  and  through 
the  performance  of  which  we  may  get  free  of  sin 
and  ascend  into  the  heaven  of  Indra." 

"  But,"  said  Prosonno,  "  my  book  teaches  that 
there  are  no  such  things  as  works  of  merit." 

"What  a  strange  doctrine,"  said  Kaminee:  "no 
works  of  merit!  Is  giving  your  own  property  to 
the  poor  not  a  work  of  merit?  Or  is  feeding 


76  LIFE   BY   THE    GANGES. 

Brahmins  not  a  work  of  merit?  Or  is  digging  a 
tank  110  merit?  Or  is  mortifying  your  flesh  not  a 
work  of  merit?" 

"Xo,"  said  Prosonno:  "at  least  the  book  says, 
that  as  we  owe  to  God  the  performance  of  every 
good  action,  we  only  pay  our  just  debts,  we  only 
do  our  duty,  when  we  perform  them;  and  there 
is  no  merit  in  the  question  at  all." 

"Well,"  replied  his  wife,  "that  doctrine  cannot 
be  very  beneficial,  for  who  would  perform  good 
actions  when  there  is  no  merit  to  be  obtained  by 
them?  Besides,  how  do  these  strange  religionists 
ever  expect  to  get  to  heaven  ?" 

."Through  the  merits  of  another,"  said  Pro- 
sonno. 

"Well,  I  declare,"  said  Kaminee,  "I  never 
heard  of  anything  so  easy;  but  amid  their  calcu- 
lations they  must  have  forgotten  that  if  all  men 
are  sinners  then  no  one  man  could  save  the 
rest," 

"No,  dear,"  continued  Prosonno,  "that  has  not 
been  forgotten;  for  this  Saviour  is  an  incarnation 
of  the  great  God  himself,  a  sinless  Being,  and 
therefore  he  can  save  the  sinner." 

"By  that  you  mean,"  said  Kaminee,  "that  He 


OUTLINE    OF    CHRISTIANITY.  77 

forgives  them;  well,  if  that  is  all,  there  is  nothing 
strange  in  it;  do  we  not  expect  the  same  from  our 
deities?  But  why  did  God  become  incarnate? 
He  has  nothing  to  do  but  speak  the  word,  and 
immediately  the  sinner  ascends  into  His  glorious 
heaven.  Or,  had  he,  like  Vishnoo,  special  works 
to  accomplish?" 

"You  are  altogether  mistaken,  Kaminee,"  said 
Prosonno;  but  then,  correcting  himself,  he  added, 
"at  least,  according  to  this  book,  which  teaches 
that  its  followers  expect  to  be  saved  through  the 
merits  of  the  incarnate  God." 

"  Well,  but  how  can  they  do  good  to  man  ?" 
asked  Kaminee. 

"It  is  of  His  own  free  will,"  answered  hei 
husband,  "  accomplished  in  this  way.  God  took 
upon  Himself  human  nature,  in  order  that  He 
might  be  able  to  suffer  the  punishment  of  sin, 
which  is  death ;  He  underwent  this  punishment, 
and  offered  Himself  as  a  sacrifice  to  atone  for  the 
sins  of  man;  and  His  life  being  so  much  more 
precious  than  the  life  of  poor  worthless  men,  the 
single  sacrifice  of  Himself  was  a  sufficient  atone- 
ment for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world." 

"  That  J  can  quite  understand,"  said  Kaminee, 


78  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

"if  it  were  only  true;  but  it  cannot  be  tru€ 
How  unlike  it  sounds  to  all  we  read  of  our  own 
gods, — the  King  to  die  for  his  subjects!  Who 
ever  heard  of  such  condescension  ?  Am  I  to  un- 
derstand that  we  are  all  to  be  saved  through  the 
merits  of  this  incarnate  God  ?" 

"The  only  conditions  required,  Kaminee,"  re- 
plied Prosonno,  "are  that  we  acknowledge  our 
need  of  His  help ;  that  we  trust  entirely  to  Him, 
and  that  we  love  Him  with  all  our  hearts." 

"  And  commit  as  many  bad  actions  as  we  like?" 
asked  his  wife. 

"God  is  a  pure,  holy  Being,"  said  Prosonno; 
"  what  kind  of  actions,  do  you  think,  would  please 
Him?" 

"  Pure  and  holy  actions,"  replied  Kaminee. 

"  Exactly  so,"  said  her  husband  ;  "  and  the  fol- 
lowers of  this  book  endeavor  to  lead  holy  lives  in 
order  to  please  the  Being  who  has  done  so  much 
for  them." 

"  But,"  returned  Kaminee,  "  tell  me  more  about 
the  incarnate  Being  who  did  all  this." 

**  He  became  incarnate  many,  many  years  ago," 
said  Prosonno,  "  in  a  country  called  Judea.  Not, 


THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST.  79 

like  Hari*  in  the  form  of  a  boar,  a  tortoise,  or  a 
dwarf,  but  as  a  man.  He  lived  among  men  as  a 
teacher,  and  went  about  the  country  with  twelve 
disciples.  Wherever  he  wandered  he  taught  the 
people  about  religion,  and  healed  their  sick  in  a 
most  wonderful  manner.  By  a  single  word  He 
drove  off  their  diseases ;  He  even  gave  blind  men 
their  sight,  cured  lepers  whom  no  doctors  can  heal, 
and  sometimes  actually  raised  the  dead  to  life. 
All  this  He  did,  not  for  sport  or  uselessly,  but 
always  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  suffered.  But, 
at  last,  the  wicked  priests  of  the  country,  who  did 
not  like  His  teaching,  accused  Him  falsely,  and 
got  Him  crucified.' 

"  What  a  strange  story !"  said  Kaminee ;  "and 
what  happened  then  ?" 

"If  He  had  been  only  a  scholar,  or  a  good 
man,"  said  Prosonno,  "  nothing  more  would  have 
happened ;  but  He  was  more  than  man ;  His  ac- 
tions proved  it.  So  His  body  was  buried  in  a 
tomb  hewed  out  of  a  rock,  not  burnt,  like  the 
bodies  of  Hindoos,  and  after  remaining  in  this 
grave  for  three  days,  He  rose  again,  and  ascended 
hito  heaven." 

*  A  Hindoo  God,  Vishnoo. 


80  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

"  Did  any  one  see  Him  after  He  became  alive 
again  ?"  asked  Kami  nee. 

"  Yes,"  said  Prosonno,  "  He  was  seen  by  many 
of  those  who  had  loved  and  served  Him  before 
He  suffered  death." 

"  Ah,  then,"  exclaimed  his  wife,  "  perhaps  the 
whole  story  was  just  made  up  by  them  as  a  pretty 
tale.  Come,  come,  I  will  hear  no  more,  and  you 
must  not  look  into  that  book  again ;  it  will  only 
unsettle  your  mind.  Let  me  read  you  that  chap- 
ter in  the  Mohabharat  which,  you  say,  always 
makes  you  laugh.  It  will  amuse  you,  and  put 
out  of  your  mind  these  new  doctrines." 

"No,  dear,"  said  Prosonno,  "I  must  go  out 
now,  having  made  an  arrangement  with  a  friend 
to  meet  him  at  three  o  clock." 

"  Very  well,"  replied  his  wife,  "  I  am  sorry 
you  must  go;  but  just  tell  me  the  name  of  the  re- 
ligion you  have  been  talking  about." 

"  Never  mind  the  name,  dear,"  said  Prosonno ; 
"  but  I  wish  you  would  ponder  its  doctrines,  and 
see  whether  you  do  not  think  them  right  ones." 

He  almost  feared  he  had  said  too  much,  and 
thinking  that  Kaminee  might  detain  him  for  an 
explanation  of  his  strange  words,  he  hurried  away; 


A    DOMESTIC   QUARREL.  81 

for  he  would  not  have  lost  that  visit  to  Ram 
Doyal  for  a  great  deal.  But  the  whole  conversa- 
tion had  made  little  impression  on  the  mind  of 
Kami  nee.  Her  heart  was  like  the  hard  and  stony 
wayside  from  which  Satan  catches  away  the  seeds 
of  gospel  truth  before  they  have  had  time  to  sink 
in  and  become  fruitful. 

Hearing  a  noise  on  the  other  side  of  the  house, 
away  went  Kaminee  to  see  what  it  could  mean. 
She  found  it  proceeded  from  Nistarinee's  room, 
and  went  towards  it ;  but  as  soon  as  she  perceived 
that  Chondro  Kumar  was  there,  she  veiled  her 
face,  and  made  a  hasty  retreat  into  the  adjoining 
room,  where  she  might  hear  what  was  going  on 
without  being  seen  by  her  husband's  brother. 
Chondro  was  beating  his  wife  severely,  not  be- 
cause he  thought  her  in  fault,  (for  in  all  countries 
husbands  take  the  part  of  their  wives  when  the 
quarrel  has  been  with  a  third  party),  but  because 
she  had  been  the  occasion  of  his  mother's  finding 
fault  with  him.  His  mother  was  a  quarrelsome, 
disagreeable  woman,  selfish  in  the  extreme ;  and 
as  soon  as  Chondro  had  come  in  from  business, 
hot  and  weary,  she  told  him,  in  the  most  irrita- 
ting manner,  how  his  wife  had  insulted  Kaminee. 


82  LIFE    BY    THE    GANGES. 

and  insinuated  that  if  he  visited  her  with  no  pun- 
ishment, she  would  consider  him  a  weak-minded 
man,  entirely  under  his  wife's  government.  It 
was  not  that  she  cared  for  one  daughter-in-law 
more  than  the  other ;  but  it  was  pure  self-interest 
that  dictated  this  speech.  Nistarinee  was  an  or- 
phan ;  whereas  Kami  nee  had  an  influential  father, 
who,  the  old  woman  thought,  might  perhaps  have 
removed  her  entirely  from  under  their  roof  had 
he  heard  that  she  was  not  comfortable.  But  his 
mother's  taunt  was  more  than  Chondrojsould  well 
bear,  and  without  inquiring,  he  took  off  his  shoe 
and  began  to  beat  Nistarinee  most  unmercifully, 
saying,  at  the  same  time,  more  for  his  mother's 
than  his  wife's  benefit,  "  This  will  teach  you  to 
quarrel  with  a  favorite  again.  Did  you  not  know 
that  your  brother-in-law's  wife  was  too  good,  and 
too  clever,  and  too  holy,  to  allow  of  your  being  a 
fit  companion  for  her  ?  Do  you  not  know  that 
you  are  not  worthy  to  tread  the  same  ground  as 
she  ?  You  will  be  pleased  in  future  to  keep  to 
yourself,  and  not  to  offend  the  righteous  Kaminee 
with  your  impertinence." 

Scenes  such  as  these  are  of  frequent  occurrence 
in  the  bosom  of  many  a  Hindoo  family.     They 


A    DOMESTIC   QUARREL.       .  83 

arise  fi  om  various  causes.  The  chief  cause  must 
ever  be  the  want  of  Christianity,  that  elevator  of 
the  affections,  that  softener  of  the  heart,  that  re- 
ligion so  eminently  the  friend  of  woman.  But 
inferior  causes  are  also  at  work.  Females  are 
kept  in  such  a  state  of  ignorance  and  degradation 
that  everything  that  is  high  and  noble  in  their 
nature  is  crushed,  almost  destroyed  ;  and  therefore 
it  is  natural  that  in  the  every-day  dealings  of  the 
family  they  should  display  petty  jealousies  or 
have  recourse  to  mean  methods  of  obtaining  fa- 
vor. Their  total  want  of  education  deprives  them 
of  the  pleasure  of  reading  and  writing,  not  to 
speak  of  the  more  elegant  accomplishments  with 
which  the  ladies  of  Christian  lands  may  amuse 
themselves:  therefore  time  hangs  heavy  on  their 
hands,  and  they  have  the  leisure  afforded  them  for 
carrying  on  at  will  the  most  perfect  system  of  do- 
mestic warfare.  The  plan  of  having  several 
branches  of  the  same  family  to  reside  together  in 
one  house,  is  also  pregnant  with  causes  of  discord. 
But  it  is  a  custom  handed  down  by  their  fore- 
fathers to  the  Hindoos,  and  that  alone  is,  in  their 
minds,  sufficient  reason  for  continuing  it  and 
transmitting  it  to  their  posterity. 


84  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

From  her  place  of  concealment  Kaminee  heard 
all  that  passed,  and  really  sorry  was  she  to  have 
been  the  occasion  of  poor  Nistarinee's  punishment, 
particularly  since  her  eldest  sister  was  by  no 
means  of  a  vindictive  temper.  Accordingly  Ka- 
minee, as  soon  as  she  heard  Chondro  go  down 
stairs,  did  what  very  few  Bengalee  women  would 
have  done;  she  went  to  Nistarinee,  expressed  her 
sorrow  for  what  had  passed,  and  begged  that  they 
might  be  friends  again.  Gradually  the  clouds 
passed  from  the  brow  of  Nistarinee,  and  she  smil- 
ingly said  :  "  Well,  I  think  it  very  foolish  to  have 
been  so  angry  all  about  a  dress!" 

It  might  have  seemed  strange  to  some  to  have 
looked  on  those  two  sisters  an  hour  after,  and  to 
have  seen  them  busily  engaged  at  a  favorite  Ben- 
galee game,  that  of  Mogul-Pathan.  To  an  Eng- 
lish mind,  the  question  would  at  once  have  oc- 
curred, "  How  could  Nistarinee  so  soon  have  for- 
gotten her  husband's  ill-treatment."  But  such  a 
one,  if  she  lived  among  Hindoo  ladies,  would  find 
that  scenes  like  the  foregoing  happened  too  fre- 
quently, and  were  too  common  to  cause  much 
sensation,  or  to  give  rise  to  those  bitter  feelings 
that  might  otherwise  be  expected. 


THE   GAME   OF   MOGUL-PATHAN.  85 

The  game  which  seemed  to  ^ive  so  much  de- 
light to  Nistarinee  and  Kaminee  was  one  of  the 
many  ingenious  ones  in  the  playing  of  which  the 
secluded  females  of  India  love  to  pass  their  lei- 
sure hours.  Mogul-Pathan  is  a  representation  of 
a  battle  between  the  Moguls  and  the  Pathans  or 
Affghans.  The  battle-field  is  accurately  drawn, 
consisting  of  sixteen  squares;  within  this  figure 
is  inscribed  a  large  square.  On  one  side  is  ranged 
the  Mogul  army  in  a  triangular  form,  and  on  the 
opposite  side  the  Pathan  army.  Each  army  con- 
sists of  sixteen  pieces,  the  moves  of  which  are 
regulated  not  by  chance,  but  by  the  skill  of  the 
players. 

When  the  game  was  finished,  Kaminee  went 
into  her  own  room,  got  her  husband's  dinner 
ready,  and  sat  waiting  for  him,  but  he  did  not 
come,  till  at  last,  weary  of  watching,  she  retired 
to  rest.  But  Prosonno  did  not  remain  out  all 
night.  He  came  in  about  eleven  o'clock,  when 
his  wife  immediately  got  up  to  light  his  lamp. 
She  thought  he  looked  anxious  and  flurried ;  and 
every  attention  on  her  part  seemed  to  give  him 
pain ;  till  at  last  he  said,  "Oh!  do  not  give  your- 
self any  trouble  about  me,  Kaminee;  go  to  rest, 


86 


LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 


and  leave  me  the  lamp.  I  am  going  to  read  for 
the  next  two  hours."  This  was  his  usual  prac- 
tice, so  Kaminee  thought  no  more  about  it,  and 
retired.  But  she  afterwards  declared,  (whether  it 
was  a  lovely  dream,  or  her  last  waking  thought, 
she  could  not  tell),  that  she  saw  her  husband  bend 
over  her  that  night  with  looks  of  the  saddest,  the 
intensest  love,  and  heard  him  say,  "God  bless 
you,  my  precious  wife." 


CHAPTER    IV. 

THE  next  morning  on  awaking,  Kaminee  found 
that  Prosonno  had  already  left  the  room. 
This  circumstance,  combined  with  his  strange 
manner  on  the  preceding  night,  tended  to  make 
her  very  anxious;  she,  therefore,  went  in  search 
of  his  grandmother,  in  order  to  impart  to  her  her 
own  fears  regarding  her  favorite,  knowing  there 
was  no  one  who  was  more  interested  in  Prosonno, 
or  who  loved  him  better.  The  good  woman 
made  every  possible  search;  but  he  certainly  was 
not  in  the  house,  and  no  one  had  seen  him  go 
out;  though  to  be  sure,  it  was  quite  probable  that 
he  was  taking  an  early  walk,  and  had  risen  before 
any  other  members  of  the  family.  But  the  day 
advanced,  and  Prosonno  did  not  return.  The 
whole  family  were  now  alarmed,  and  various  were 
the  fears  suggested  to  the  mind  of  each  one. 
Mohendro's  father's  sister,  a  very  decrepit  old 

woman,  hinted  that  Prosonno  might  have  been 

87 


88  LI-FE    BY    THE    GANGES. 

spirited  away,  and  though  this  opinion  was  not 
generally  adopted,  yet  in  the  state  of  their  minds 
at  that  time,  it  was  sufficient  to  cause  a  shudder 
to  come  over  them. 

Surjo  Kumar  feared  he  had  been  drowned  in 
bathing;  but  he  was  too  considerate  to  mention 
this  thought  in  the  presence  of  his  mother,  and 
only  spoke  of  it  to  Chondro,  who  did  not,  how- 
ever, agree  with  him.  He  thought  it  was  more 
likely  that  Prosonno  had  broken  a  blood-vessel 
while  out  walking,  as  he  had  done  on  a  former 
occasion  not  long  ago,  and  that  probably  he  was 
lying  ill  somewhere  without  the  means,  perhaps 
without  the  strength,  to  send  intelligence  to  his 
family.  In  Kaminee's  mind  every  feeling  of 
fear  had  been  awakened.  She  had  an  undefined 
dread  of  some  fearful  impending  calamity,  and 
falling  at  the  feet  of  her  mother-in-law,  she  en- 
treated her  to  send  messengers  in  every  direction 
in  search  of  her  missing  husband. 

"Oh,  how  willingly  would  I  go  and  seek  him 
myself?"  she  exclaimed,  "if  these  bonds  of  cus- 
tom did  not  prevent  me.  Alas!  how  irksome 
they  seem  now,  though  I  never  felt  them  so 
before.  My  honored  lord,  what  should  1  do  if 


PllOSONNO   HAS   BECOME   A   CHRISTIAN.        89 

you  never  returned.  Why  did  you  not  take  me 
with  you,  giver  of  my  life?  In  your  company, 
I  should  have  wanted  no  better  dwelling  than  the 
shade  of  a  tree,  and  no  better  food  than  the  wild 
berries  which  the  bats  eat;  but  without  you  this 
beautiful  house  will  be  to  me  more  lonely  than 
the  barren  desert."  Sti  iking  her  head  on  the 
cold  stone,  she  continued — "As  the  chatokee  bird 
looks  for  the  dew  of  heaven,  and  will  be  satisfied 
with  the  water  of  no  earthly  spring,  so  my  soul 
looks  to  you.  You  must  come  back  to  me,  for  no 
inferior  joy  can  yield  me  any  delight.  Oh,  return, 
lord  of  my  life,  jewel  of  my  existence;  return,  or 
I  must  die!" 

This  frantic  grief  was  not  all  really  felt,  though, 
in  her  case,  regret  was  far  more  sincere  than  in 
hundreds  of  others;  but  the  words  were  such  as 
Kaminee  was  expected  to  utter  on  the  loss  of  her 
husband,  and  accordingly  she  did  so.  Moved  by 
her  distress,  and,  indeed,  most  anxious  themselves, 
Prosonno's  three  brothers  set  off  in  search  of  him. 
They  looked  far  and  near,  every  school  and  col- 
lege was  examined,  all  his  favorite  haunts  were 
explored,  but  he  was  nowhere  to  be  found. 

At  last  Nob*  Kumdr  thought  of  R&m  Doyal's 


90  LIFE    BY   THE   GANGES. 

house.  They  went  thither;  Prosonno  was  not 
there,  but  R£m  Doyal  could  give  them  some 
information  about  their  brother, — he  was  in  the 
house  of  a  Christian  missionary,  and  was  de- 
termined to  become  a  Christian  himself. 

No  whirlwind  ever  swept  the  earth  with  more 
unexpected  fury;  no  thunderbolt  ever  fell  with 
more  astounding  vehemence  than  did  this  intelli- 
gence on  the  hearts  of  Prosonno's  brothers.  They 
hastened  home  to  communicate  it;  but  how  shall 
we  describe  the  storm  that  followed?  Mohendro 
and  his  wife  were,  perhaps,  the  most  bitter. 
"Spirited  away,  drowned,  dying,  anything  would 
have  been  better  than  this!  The  honor  of  our 
family  gone!  Our  son  sold  to  the  stranger!  our 
daughter-in-law  made  a  widow!  our  caste  in 
danger!  the  gods  dishonored!  Oh!  what  could 
have  drawn  down  this  curse  upon  our  heads?'* 
Kaminee,  too,  all  her  feelings  for  her  husband 
changed,  for  the  moment,  into  deadliest  hate, 
abused  him  as  a  vile  apostate,  a  heartless  wretch, 
a  renegade  from  the  faith  of  his  fathers. 

But  the  family  were  not  going  to  sit  still  and 
<lo  nothing.  Prosonno  must  be  reclaimed  ere  the 
fatal  waters  of  Cbristiar  baptism  should  be  poured 


SCHEMES   TO   RECLAIM    PROSONNO.  91 

over  his  head!  For  the  rest,  atonement  might 
be  made;  the  caste  he  had  abjured,  in  taking  the 
food  of  an  Englishman,  might  be  restored  by  a 
feast  to  the  Brahmins.  The  sin,  that  it  was  in 
his  heart  to  become  a  Christian,  might  also  be 
forgiven  by  large  gifts  to  the  same  powerful  order 
of  priests:  but  baptized  he  must  not  be.  He 
must  be  brought  home,  whether  by  foul  means 
or  fair,  by  force  or  persuasion,  by  false  promises 
or  threatenings;  and  if  no  other  means  would  avail 
to  keep  him  at  home,  they  would  administer  to 
him  a  noxious  drug,  which  would  forever  destroy 
his  reason.  What  of  that?  Anything  was  better 
than  being  a  Christian ;  and  a  son  deprived  of  his 
reason  was,  at  least,  as  good  as  a  daughter. 
Such  were  the  devices  with  which  Satan  filled  the 
hearts  of  Prosonno's  relatives;  but  God,' accord- 
ing to  His  gracious  promise,  permitted  no  weapon 
that  was  formed  against  him  to  prosper. 

Mohendro  and  his  sons  immediately  repaired 
to  the  residence  of  the  missionary,  where  Pro- 
sonno  Kum&r  was  supposed  to  be,  and  rushing 
into  the  house,  they  demanded  an  instant  inter- 
view with  him,  at  the  same  time  accusing  the 
missionary  of  having  enticed  him  away  by  pro- 


92  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

raises  of  a  fine  house,  an  English  wife,  and  a 
beautiful  carriage,  though  they  knew  he  had  done 
nothing  of  the  kind. 

The  good  missionary  bore  all  their  reproaches 
with  perfect  calmness,  and  remembering  how 
much  consideration  was  due  to  Moheudro's  parental 
feelings,  he  at  once  most  courteously  led  the  way 
to  the  room  where  Prosonno  was  sitting.  His 
head  was  resting  on  his  hand,  and  his  face  wore 
an  expression  which  plainly  told  how  much  he 
dreaded  the  approaching  trial. 

"Prosonno,"  said  his  father,  thinking  it  best  to 
try  gentle  means  at  the  outset,  "  what  has  made 
you  leave  us  in  this  manner?  My  boy,  you  must 
return  with  me;  your  absence  has  turned  our 
dwelling  into  a  house  of  mourning ;  your  mother 
has  neither  eaten  nor  drank  since  you  left,  nor 
will  she  do  so  till  you  return.  Your  mother  will 
die ;  think  of  that  ?" 

"Father,  I  would  willingly  go  back,"  said 
Prosonno,  "  if  it  did  not  involve  the  sacrifice  of 
my  religion." 

"  What  religion  is  that?"  said  Mohendro ;  "but 
I  can  answer  that  question  for  you,"  he  added, 
becoming  very  angry.  "  Your  religion  consists  in 


WHAT   MADE  PROSONNO    A    CHRISTIAN.         93 

dishonoring  your  father;  in  causing  your  mother 
to  die  of  grief;  in  forsaking  the  wife  you  promised 
but  the  other  day  to  love  and  to  cherish ;  -in  pre- 
ferring strangers  to  your  own  brethren ;  in  eating 
with  Domes  and  Kowras,  (the  two  lowest  castes) ; 
this  is  the  Christian  religion  ;  and  in  turn  for  all 
you  forsake,  what  do  you  get  ?  The  pleasure  of 
tasting  beef!  O  Prosonno,  how  could  you  have 
fallen  so  low  ?  Besides  you  will  not  get  all  they 
promise;  they  are  great  deceivers;  you  will  get 
no  European  wife ;  the  white  ladies  despise  black 
men !" 

"  O  father,"  exclaimed  Prosonno,  "  I  thought 
you  knew  me  better  than  to  believe  me  the  despi- 
cable wretch  you  have  described.  No  one  has 
made  me  the  promise  you  talk  of.  I  want  no 
wife,  save  my  beautiful  Kaminee ;  and  as  for  caring 
for  the  food  you  mention,  I  probably  shall  never 
taste  it.  It  has  been  too  long  an  object  of  abhor- 
rence for  the  feeling  against  it  now  to  be  set  aside. 
But  O  father,  things  more  important  far  than 
these  have  drawn  me  to  the  religion  of  Christ. 
I  have  a  soul  to  be  saved,  sins  to  be  pardoned, 
eternal  joys  to  obtain  ;  and  Christianity  oifers  me 
these  privileges  without  money  and  without  price. 


94  '       LIFE   BY    THE   GANGES. 

In  embracing  the  religion  of  Christ,  far  from 
seeking  worldly  aggrandizement,  I  know  that  1 
must  lose  my  mother  and  you,  and  lose  all  my 
share  in  your  property.  In  the  house  in  which  I 
have  hitherto  been  loved  and  respected  I  shall 
now  be  regarded  in  the  light  of  a  convicted  crim- 
inal. The  lowest  menial  in  your  house  will  think 
himself  degraded  in  sitting  at  meat  with  me. 
My  wife,  perhaps,  will  forsake  me.  I  must  leave 
our  comfortable  home  and  its  abundance  to  earn 
a  precarious  subsistence ;  or,  what  is  worse,  until 
I  obtain  employment  I  must  be  dependent  on  my 
Christian  friends  for  the  bare  necessaries  of  life; 
I  must— " 

"  O  Prosonno,"  interrupted  his  eldest  brother, 
"  if  you  understand  so  well  all  the  miseries  con- 
nected with  embracing  this  cursed  religion,  why 
will  you  persist  in  your  purpose  ?  You  will  soon 
repent  of  having  forsaken  your  forefathers'  faith. 
I  shudder  to  think  of  it.  The  direst  vengeance 
of  our  holy  gods  will  fall  on  your  head." 

"  Holy  gods !  say  rather  impious  fiends,"  ex- 
claimed Chondro  aside,  then  continued  aloud, 
"  Come,  brother  Surjo,  it  is  of  no  use  to  argue 
mth  Prosonno  in  that  way.  English  education 


CHONDRO'S   ARGUMENTS.  95 

has  done  away  with  those  ideas.  Our  first  lesson 
in  geography,  which  taught  us  that  the  world  was 
round,  also  taught  us  that  our  Shastres  were  false, 
for  they  declare  the  world  to  be  a  huge  flat  mass, 
seated  on  the  back  of  a  tortoise  I" 

"  I  hate  your  English  education  from  the  bot- 
tom of  my  heart,"  retorted  Surjo.  "  It  is  snap- 
ping the  foundations  of  Hindooism." 

"  But  it  is  not  establishing  the  truth  of  Christ- 
ianity," continued  Chondro.  "  No,  brother,  Chris- 
tianity is  no  more  true  than  Hindooism.  I  only 
wanted  you  to  let  me  argue  with  Prosonno  in  my 
own  way.  Pray  do  not  suspect  me  of  having  any 
prejudices  in  favor  of  that  system,  which  I  heart- 
ily join  with  you  in  terming  accursed." 

"  Well,  well,  go  on,  boy,"  said  his  father,  "  I 
think  so  far  you  are  right  in  standing  up  in  favor 
of  English  education.  I  do  not  see  that  it  has 
anything  in  common  with  Christianity;  besides 
we  cannot  get  on  without  it  in  these  days.  See 
how  well  you,  who  have  received  an  English  edu- 
cation, have  prospered  in  the  world,  compared 
with  your  poor  brother  Surjo,  who,  skilled  as  he 
is  in  the  lore  of  our  Shastres,  has  never  attained  a 
higher  office  than  that  of  a  common  Purohit, 


96  LIFE    BY   THE    GANGES. 

(domestic  chaplain),  with  its  miserable  pittance. 
It  cannot  be  helped,  Surjo,"  he  continued,  "  it 
would  have  been  an  injustice  to  the  boys  not  to 
have  had  them  taught  English  ;  besides,  1  again 
repeat  it,  the  knowledge  of  English  has  not  been 
the  means  of  bringing  Prosonno  to  abjure  his 
father's  faith ;  no,  no,  had  he  never  met  that  ac- 
cursed R&m  Doyal,  or  this  insidious  smooth- 
tongued missionary,  my  boy  would  still  have  been 
a  reverent  Hindoo." 

"  Avaricious  old  fool,"  muttered  Surjo,  "  thus 
is  our  holy  religion  ever  sacrificed  to  the  love  of 
gain,  and  then  we  deceive  ourselves  with  thinking 
that  it  is  our  misfortune,  not  our  fault,  that  our 
sons  bring  everlasting  disgrace  on  our  name  by 
choosing  the  God  of  the  English."  This  was 
said  aside,  and  Chondro,  not  hearing  it,  went  on 
to  join  his  father  and  brother  in  entreating  Pro- 
sonno to  return  home  with  them. 

"Prosonno,"  he  said,  "you  and  I  very  well 
know  that  there  is  but  one  God,  and  that  every- 
thing in  nature  tells  us  that  His  worship  is  essen- 
tially spiritual.  To  Him  all  nations  are  alike. 
He  is  neither  pleased  with  rites  and  ceremonies, 
nor  displeased  with  them.  In  the  formulas  of 


PROSONNO'S    REPLY.  97 

Hindooism,  and  in  the  religious  services  of  Chris- 
tianity, it  is  the  spiritual  principle  alone,  so  to 
speak,  which  He  accepts.  In  the  former  case  the 
holy  water,  the  sandal-wood,  the  rice,  go  for  no- 
thing ;  in  the  latter  the  bended  knee,  the  careless 
hymn,  the  quantity  of  words,  are  equally  ineffica- 
cious ;  the  heart's  adoration  alone  ascends  to  the 
Deity.  That  adoration  you  and  I  can  both  offer 
in  our  private  rooms,  each  in  his  own  way,  with- 
out violating  the  great  law  of  nature,  gratitude 
to  those  who  gave  us  being.  "  Come,  come,  Pro- 
sonno,"  he  continued,  "you  can  have  nothing  to 
urge  against  my  argument,  come  home  with  us." 
"My  dear  brother,"  replied  Prosonno,  "I  wish 
I  could  make  you  understand  but  half  the  pain  I 
feel  in  being  obliged  to  infuse  your  request.  What 
you  have  stated  to  be  religion  constitutes  the  creed 
of  the  Deist.  But  I  am  not  such  a  one ;  I  am  a 
Christian.  I  have  a  direct  revelation  from  God, 
and  in  that  revelation  I  find  commands  such  as 
these :  '  Come  out  from  among  them  and  be  ye 
separate,  saith  the  Lord,  and  touch  not  the  un- 
clean thing:'  and  again,  'He  that  loveth  father 
or  mother  more  than  me  is  not  worthy  of  me:' 
and  again,  'Repent  and  be  baptized.'  With  such 

7 


98  LIFE   BY   THE    GANGES. 

words  before  me  what  can  I  say?  Must  I  not 
hearken  to  the  voice  of  God  rather  than  to  the 
voice  of  man  ?" 

"But,  O  boy,"  exclaimed  Mohendro,  falling  on 
Prosonno's  neck  in  an  agony  of  tears,  "  that  can- 
not be  the  voice  of  God  which  tells  you  to  forsake 
your  father;  to  kill  him  with  sorrow  when  he  is 
old  and  gray-headed;  to  embitter  his  last  days 
with  anguish  ?" 

"  No,  no,  father,"  exclaimed  Prosonno ;  "  I  did 
not  say  it  was  Christianity  that  commands  me  to 
forsake  you  ;  but  Hindooism  will  oblige  me  to  do 
it;  oh!  if  it  did  not,  how  happy  should  I  be! 
Father,  father,  let  me  follow  the  dictates  of  my 
own  conscience  and  I  will  remain  with  you !" 

"And  what  are  they?"  exclaimed  Mohendro, 
eagerly. 

"  First,  I  must  publicly  receive  Christian  bap- 
tism," said  Prosonno. 

Mohendro's  countenance  fell:  all  hopes  of  a 
compromise  between  Christianity  and  Hindooism 
were  destroyed.  His  son  went  on — "  Secondly,  I 
can  never  bow  my  knee  to  an  idol  made  with 
hands.  Thirdly,  permit  me  to  attend  the  church 
of  the  Christians  on  Sundays  for  public  worship ; 


HINDOOISM   AND    FOOD.  99 

and  lastly,  release  me  from  the  bonds  of  caste ; 
God  has  made  all  men  of  one  blood,  and  who  am 
I  that  I  should  place  a  difference  between  them  ? 
Allow  me  then  to  sit  at  meat  with  my  Christian 
brethren,  and  permit  them  to  visit  me  in  your 
house,  where  I  too  must  not  refuse  them  the  rites 
of  hospitality." 

At  that  moment  the  missionary  entered  the 
room  :  he  thought  the  conference  had  lasted  long 
enough,  and  was  unwilling  that  poor  Prosonno 
should  be  subjected  to  an  unnecessary  trial.  As 
he  entered  he  had  heard  Prosonno's  concluding 
sentence  and  disapproved  of  it. 

"  My  dear  boy,"  he  said,  "  I  have  no  doubt 
that  you  mean  well,  but  in  your  zeal  for  Christi- 
anity, you  forget  that  in  his  own  house  your 
father  is  master,  and  if  he  will  kindly  allow  you 
to  remain  with  him,  I  do  not  think  you  ought  to 
offend  his  prejudices  by  stipulating  that  your 
Christian  friends  should  eat  in  his  house." 

"O  sir!"  exclaimed  Prosonno,  "I  shall  only 
be  too  glad  to  fall  in  with  the  wishes  of  my 
father,  and  return  with  him,  if  I  am  not  disobey- 
ing the  command  of  God.  His  word,  you  know 


100  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

says,  'Use  hospitality  one  to  another  without 
grudging.' " 

"  Yes,  that  is  true,  my  dear  Prosonno/'  replied 
the  missionary;  "but  while  you  are  not  your 
own  master,  I  do  not  see  that  it  quite  lies  in  your 
power  to  fulfil  the  apostle's  injunction.  Give  up 
that  condition,  therefore,  and  so  commend  the 
Christian  religion  in  your  life  and  conversation, 
that  in  process  of  time  your  father  shall  consider 
it  an  honor  to  receive  a  Christian  into  his  house." 

"Hear  him !"  exclaimed  Mohendro,  "  come, 
come,  sir,  do  not  trifle  with  me.  If  you  still 
persist  in  detaining  my  son,  I  shall  go  to  law 
about  it,  and  so  recover  him.  Do  you  know,  sir, 
that  you  have  wilfully  abducted,  and  are  now  for- 
cibly keeping  possession  of  a  minor,  over  whom 
no  one  has  any  control  except  myself?" 

"O  father,  father!  how  can  you  say  that," 
exclaimed  Prosonno,  "la  minor !  Why,  I  was 
sixteen  and  reached  the  age  of  majority  according 
to  Hindoo  law,  two  years  ago !" 

"  Peace,  you  liar/'  retorted  Mohendro,  "  have 
I  not  your  horoscope,*  and  will  not  that  prove 
what  I  state?" 

*  Horoscope;  The  position  of  the  stars  at  the  time  of  birth 


HINDOOISM   EXCLUSIVE.  101 

"  My  good  friend,"  said  the  missionary  quietly, 
"  when  you  first  came  into  my  house,  you  observed 
that  for  eighteen  long  years  you  had  fed  and  sup- 
ported the  boy  who  was  ungrateful  to  you  ?  Be- 
sides, that  I  have  abducted  him,  or  now  detain 
him  against  his  will,  you  well  know  to  be  alto- 
gether untrue.  On  the  contrary,  1  should  be  very 
much  pleased  were  he  able  to  live  in  your  house 
always,  provided  he  might  remain  a  Christian." 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  Prosonno,  "  I  have  been  tell- 
ing my  father  that  if  he  would  but  allow  me 
\iberty  to  follow  the  precepts  of  my  own  religion, 
I  would  most  gladly  return  home  with  him,  and 
endeavor  in  every  way  to  discharge  my  filial 
obligations  to  him  and  my  mother." 

"  Baboo,"  said  the  missionary,  turning  to  Mo- 
hendro,  "  what  could  be  fairer  than  this  ?  Do,  I 
beseech  you,  grant  your  son's  request !" 

"  And  defile  our  house,  and  taint  our  unsullied 
reputation,  and  incur  everlasting  disgrace !"  ex- 
claimed Surjo  angrily.  "  You  know  we  cannot 
and  will  not  receive  a  Christian,  and  therefore 
you  taunt  us  ?" 

is  always  calculated  by  the  Brahmins  and  is  an  evidence  of 
age. 


102  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

"  By  no  means,"  replied  the  missionary ;  "  God 
only  knows  the  anguish  these  scenes  occasion  me 
Were  I  to  listen  to  feeling  alone,  I  should  say, 
'  Take  your  son,  and  go  in  peace ;'  but  the  Master 
whom  I  serve  tells  me  that  '  every  one  that  hath 
forsaken  houses,  or  brethren,  or  sisters,  or  father 
or  mother,  or  wife  or  children,  or  lands,  for  His 
sake,  shall  receive  an  hundredfold,  and  shall  in- 
herit everlasting  life.'  With  this  glorious  pro- 
mise set  before  him,  can  I  do  otherwise  than  urge 
Prosonno  to  persevere  in  the  resolution  he  has 
adopted,  that  he  may  in  the  end  receive  what  God 
has  promised,  a  crown  of  life?  No,  no,  I  did 
not  taunt  you,  but  I  had  heard  that  your  father 
was  deeply  attached  to  Prosonno,  and  I  had  fondly 
hoped  that  this  would  have  induced  him  to  be 
the  first  Hindoo  parent  who  would  nobly  come 
forward  and  say,  '  I  am  not  master  of  my  son's 
conscience  and  reason,  and  though  he  may  differ 
from  me  as  to  the  way  in  which  God  is  to  be 
worshipped,  that  forms  no  sufficient  reason  why  I 
should  cast  him  out  from  house  and  home.'" 

"How  could  I  ever  say  that?"  exclaimed  Mo- 
hendro.  "  I  should  be  hooted  from  society ;  no  one 


HINDOOISM    EXCLUSIVE.  103 

would  eat  with  me,  no  one  would  associate  with 
me,  if  I  gave  utterance  to  such  a  thought.  No, 
rather  than  that,  let  me  die ;  death  is  better  than 
dishonor." 

"Baboo,  I  am  sorry  for  you,"  said  the  mission- 
ary gently,  "and  wish  from  the  bottom  of  my 
heart  that  I  could  help  you,  but  that  seems  im- 
possible. One  thing,  however,  you  must  remem- 
ber: it  is  Hindooism,  not  our  religion  of  love, 
that  causes  this  terrible  separation.  Had  I  a  son 
who  forsook  Christianity  and  became  an  infidel, 
or  a  follower  of  Mohammed,  my  religion  would 
teach  me  to  love  and  support  him  still,  to  use  him 
tenderly,  to  try  to  win  him  back  to  the  paths  of 
holiness  and  truth  by  the  most  gentle  and  affec- 
tionate means.  Your  religion  under  the  same 
circumstances  enjoins  that  you  should  cast  away 
the  erring  child,  (erring  as  you  believe  him  to  be;) 
turn  him  out  of  house  and  homp,  and  tear  yourself 
from  his  love.  Now,  Baboo,  I  appeal  to  your 
conscience  and  to  your  feeling,  which  of  the  two 
religions  has  justice  and  mercy  on  its  side?" 

Mohendro  was  moved,  and  the  big  tears  coursed 
one  another  down  his  cheek.  "This  grief  was 


J04  LIFE   BY   THE    GANGES. 

written  on  my  forehead,"*  he  exclaimed,  "  and  I 
suppose  I  must  bear  it.  But  cannot,  oh !  can- 
not I  escape  it?"  he  continued,  turning  to  the 
missionary;  "do,  in  compassion  to  my  weakness, 
advise  the  boy  not  to  leave  his  old  father ;  oh  do, 
sir ;  and  the  blessings  of  our  whole  household  will 
descend  on  you  and  yours." 

"My  good  friend,"  replied  the  missionary, 
weeping  too,  "  your  son  is  at  perfect  liberty  to  act 
as  he  pleases,  but  you  must  not  ask  me  to  advise 
him  to  choose  Hindooism  and  abjure  Christianity; 
I  cannot  do  that." 

"  Come,  come,  father,"  said  Surjo  and  Chondro 
both  at  once,  "it  is  no  use  staying  here.  You 
need  not  suppose  this  fellow  will  help  us;  he  gets  a 
thousand  rupees  for  every  convert  he  baptizes ;  and 
we  may  trust  any  padre*f  for  letting  slip  an  oppor- 
tunity for  making  money.  Come  away ;  we  shall 
get  justice  elsewhere." 

False  and  irritating  as  was  this  accusation,  the 
missionary  made  no  reply,  but  mildly  begged  that 

*  The  Hindoos  believe  each  man's  fat«  to  be  written  in  the 
lines  of  his  skull. 

f  Missionaries  are  generally  called  padres  in  India.  The 
idea  that  they  are  paid  so  much  a  head  for  converts  is  very 
general  among  the  Hindoos. 


THE  BROTHERS  DEPART.        105 

Prosonno  might  now  be  left  alone.  The  two 
elder  brothers,  enraged  beyond  measure,  dragged 
their  father  out  of  the  room ;  but  Nobo  still  lin- 
gered behind. 

"  Brother,"  he  whispered,  "  you  will  not  leave 
me  to  perish  in  Hindooism  : — for  that  Hindooism 
is  false  I  already  see;  you  will  instruct  me  in 
Christianity,  and  then  we  shall  both  be  Christians 
together." 

"My  dearest  boy,"  said  Prosonno,  "if  any- 
thing could  tempt  me  to  delay  a  public  profession 
of  Christianity,  it  would  be  the  hope  of  bringing 
you  with  me  to  the  feet  of  Jesus;  but  even  for 
this  I  cannot  endanger  my  own  soul's  salvation. 
I  will  give  you  a  Bible,  Nobo,  but  I  cannot  go 
home  with  you." 

Well  was  it  for  Prosonno  that  he  was  thus 
firm ;  for  Nobo's  specious  speech  had  been  put 
into  his  mouth  by  his  wily  brother  Surjo,  who  had 
shrewdly  guessed  it  would  prove  a  better  argu  • 
ment  towards  the  gaining  of  their  point  than 
anything  that  had  gone  before.  But  on  hearing 
this  decided  negative  to  his  proposition  the  disap- 
pointed Nobo  turned  to  go. 

"Stay," said  Prosonno,  " Tmust  have  one  word 


106  LIFE   BY   THE    GANGES. 

with  you,  Nobo,  before  you  leave  me.  Give  my 
wife  my  warmest  love ;  tell  her,  if  I  have  injured 
her,  she  must  forgive  me;  I  could  not  have  acted 
otherwise  than  I  have  done.  Tell  her  I  now  be- 
long to  the  pure,  the  holy  religion  on  which  I 
held  my  last  sweet  conversation  with  her ;  and 
above  all,  tell  her,  entreat  her  to  come  and  join 
me,  to  take  my  God  as  her  God.  Tell  her,  she 
will  never  repent  it.  Nobo,  tell  her  He  will 
guide  her  until  death,  and  then  receive  her  into 
everlasting  glory." 

Nobo  scarcely  waited  to  hear  the  conclusion  of 
his  brother's  sentence.  In  a  moment  he  was  gone, 
and  Prosonno  was  left  alone  with  the  missionary. 
His  long  pent-up  feelings  now  found  vent  in  a 
flood  of  tears. 

"  O  God  I"  he  exclaimed,  "  Thou  only  knowest 
the  agonizing  trial  this  meeting  has  been  to  me, 
and  I  thank  Thee  for  having  supported  me 
through  it." 

But  we  must  return  to  Mohendro  and  his  sons, 
and  follow  them  to  their  home.  No  sooner  had 
they  reached  the  threshold,  than  all  the  inmates 
of  the  house  came  crowding  round  them,  and 
waited  in  breathless  anxiety  to  hear  the  result  of 


KAMINEE'S  ANGER.  107 

their  interview  with  Prosonno.  It  was  soon  told. 
Every  countenance  fell. 

"  He  refused  to  come  back  to  me ;  to  her  who 
bore  him  I"  exclaimed  Prosonno's  mother ;  and 
the  poor  woman  fell  senseless  on  the  floor ;  for  in 
the  secret  recesses  of  the  Hindoo  mother's  heart 
springs  up  the  same  deep,  deathless  love,  that  flows 
from  the  bosom  of  the  English  mother  to  the 
child  she  has  borne.  Kaminee's  grief  was  more 
silent,  but  not  the  less  deep.  She  seemed  deter- 
mined to  disguise  her  feelings,  and  with  all  the 
pride  of  injured  woman  exclaimed: — 

"  He  has  made  me  a  widow  in  the  bloom  of  my 
youth,  and  I  shall  yet  have  my  revenge.  The 
gods  are  holy  and  just;  they  will  never  let  him 
go  unpunished!" 

"Oh  no,"  said  Nobo;  "he  has  not  made  you  a 
widow,  he  wants  you  to  join  him ;  he  has  sent  you 
a  message;"  and  he  repeated  it  to  Kaminee,  not 
in  the  sweet  spirit  in  which  Prosonno  spoke  the 
words,  but  in  a  tone  of  bitter  raillery,  adding — 

"Of  course  you  will  go,  sister,  and  the  next 
thing  we  shall  hear  of  you  will  be  that  you  have 
been  making  merry  at  a  feast,  where  men  were 
your  companions,  where  the  viands  were  the 


108  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

loathsome  flesh  of  the  cow  and  the  hog,  and  where 
the  drink  was  intoxicating  liquor."* 

"Silence,  Nobo,"  said  Kaminee  angrily.  "But 
tell  me,  do  you  really  mean  to  say  that  your 
brother  had  the  effrontery  to  ask  me  to  go  to 
him?" 

"Of  course  he  had,"  replied  Nobo:  "I  have 
told  you  his  exact  words." 

"Then  here  is  my  answer,"  exclaimed  Kami- 
nee;  "instead  of  love,  tell  him  I  send  him  dead- 
liest hate;  instead  of  forgiveness,  vengeance  and 
anger;  tell  him  it  is  my  religion  which  is  pure 
and  holy ;  his  is  unclean  and  bestial ;  tell  him,  I 
loathe  him,  I  despise  him,  and  as  sure  as  the  sun 
will  rise  in  the  heavens,  so  surely  shall  I  utter  a 
curse  on  his  name  before  the  altar  of  my  God." 

"Softly,  softly,  daughter,"  said  Mohendro  sadly, 
"  is  he  not  your  husband  still  ?  Oh !  then  do  not 
curse  him;  have  patience;"  and  a  smile  passed 
his  face  as  he  exclaimed,  "have  patience,  Ka- 
minee, we  shall  reclaim  him  yet,  and  yet  be 
happy." 

During  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  the  tnis- 

*  A  suggestion  unspeakably  disgusting  to  the  Brahinin,  who 
never  tastes  flesh  or  liquors. 


THE   SCENE   AT   THE   MISSIONARY'S.         10& 

sionary,  in  whose  house  Prosonno  had  taken 
refuge,  received  a  summons  to  appear  before  a 
court  of  justice  on  the  morrow,  bringing  with  him 
the  body  of  the  minor  he  had  forcibly  abducted 
from  such  a  place  on  such  a  day.  This  was  the 
legal  wording  of  the  document.  The  missionary, 
of  course,  prepared  to  obey  it;  but  how  different 
was  the  manner  in  which  the  ensuing  night  was 
spent  in  his  house  to  that  in  which  its  hours  were 
employed  in  the  dwelling  of  Mohendro.  The 
home  of  the  Hindoo  was  all  noise  and  confu- 
sion, wailing  and  lamentation;  at  one  moment 
an  angry  deity  was  propitiated  with  offerings  and 
gifts,  and  the  spirits  of  Prosonno's  friends  rose  as 
the  priest  declared  he  could  perceive  omens  which 
augured  success  to  their  plan;  at  the  next  mo- 
ment, when  they  remembered  Prosonno's  resolute 
refusal  to  return  to  Hindooism,  and  thought  of 
his  fixed  will  and  ever-determined  spirit,  their 
hearts  died  within  them,  and  they  knew  he  was 
gone  from  them  never  to  return. 

In  the  Christian's  dwelling  another  scene  pre- 
sented itself.  During  the  early  part  of  the  night, 
one  might  have  looked  into  a  quiet  room,  and 
seen  three  individuals  sitting  round  a  table  with 


110  LIFE   BY  THE   GANGES. 

the  holy  volume  of  inspiration  before  them,  study- 
ing its  blessed  truths.  These  three  were  Pro- 
sonno,  the  missionary,  and  his  wife. 

They  read  together  of  the  glorious  things  God 
had  reserved  for  those  that  love  Him.  The  ad- 
vanced Christians  encouraged  the  new  convert, 
and  he  felt  that  he  never  before  had  experienced 
anything  so  sweet  as  real,  heartfelt  sympathy, 
proceeding  from  love  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
They  then  knelt  in  prayer,  heart  joining  with 
heart  in  beseeching  God  to  preserve  Prosonno  on 
the  coming  day,  to  give  him  grace  to  make  a 
good  confession  before  men,  and  to  bring  him 
forth  out  of  the  furnace  like  silver  purified  and 
ready  for  the  Master's  use.  The  prayer  finished, 
they  each  retired  to  rest,  and  calm  and  holy  was 
their  repose  until  morning  dawned. 

At  length  the  time  for  the  trial  approached,  and 
the  court  was  crowded  with  expectant  listeners. 
"Christianity  will  be  foiled  this  time,"  exclaimed 
a  bigoted  old  Brahmin.  "Nay,"  said  another, 
''it  is  we  who  shall  be  defeated;  as  their  own 
Shastre  predicts,  no  weapon  that  is  formed  against 
Christianity  seems  to  prosper." 

"But,  Mohendro,"  said  a  third,  "is  rich;  he 


THE   MOTHER    APPEARS.  Ill 

will  leave  nothing  untried ;  surely  by  bribes  and 
by  presents  he  will  be  able  to  gain  his  point." 

"And  we  have  another  thing  in  our  favor," 
exclaimed  a  fourth;  "the  magistrate  is  not  one 
of  those  saintly  Christians  who  always  side  with 
the  padre's;  he  is  a  liberal-minded  man,  and  will 
be  sure  to  see  us  righted,  although  we  are  Hin- 
doos." 

These  remarks  were  interrupted  by  the  entrance 
into  the  court's  verandah  of  a  closely-curtained 
palanquin.  Such  an  unusual  spectacle  attracted 
all  eyes,  and  the  people's  astonishment  was  height- 
ened, when  they  saw  a  female,  evidently  rich  and 
respectable,  alight  from  it.  This  was  the  mother 
of  Prosonno;  she  had  never  before  appeared  in 
public,  and  it  was  a  heavy  blow  to  the  family 
pride  that  she  did  so  now.  Surjo  and  Chondro 
had  violently  opposed  the  measure,  but  all  to  no 
purpose.  What  were  forms  and  usages  to  her 
when  her  child's  well-being  was  at  stake?  She 
would  brave  ridicule  and  insult  to  see  her  boy. 
once  more.  He  must  yield  to  her.  He  could 
never  resist  the  appeal  which  only  a  mother's  heart 
can  make.  Buoyed  up  with  hopes  such  as  these, 
the  poor  woman  walked  up  through  the  crowd 


112  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

towards  the  bench.  Although  she  was  deeply 
veiled,  and  immediately  surrounded  by  her  hus- 
band and  sons;  although  her  case  was  so  urgent 
and  her  grief  so  heavy,  still  the  lip  of  scorn  was 
everywhere  pointed  at  her,  and  one  or  two  of  the 
spectators,  more  daring  and  more  unkind  than 
the  rest,  did  not  hesitate  to  insult  her  openly  with 
the  expression  of  every  variety  of  coarse  and  un- 
feeling jest.  The  magistrate  saw  this.  His  Eng- 
lish feelings  were  moved  at  the  indignity  offered 
to  the  suffering  woman,  and  beckoning  to  Mo- 
hendro,  he  showed  him  a  private  room,  where 
Prosonno's  mother  might  wait  unmolested  until 
the  arrival  of  her  son.  A  few  moments  elapsed, 
and  then  Prosonno  entered.  He  was  supported 
on  one  side  by  the  missionary,  and  on  the  other 
by  his  Christian  friend,  R£m  Doyal,  who  had 
himself  passed  through  a  similar  scene  of  trial, 
and  was  now  whispering  words  of  comfort  and 
hope  to  his  afflicted  brother.  Two  European 
gentlemen  also,  friends  of  the  missionary,  accom- 
panied this  little  party,  to  act  as  a  guard,  in  case 
Prosonno's  relatives  should  attempt  to  use  any 
violence  towards  him.  The  moment  the  crowd 


THE   TRIAL   BEGINS.  113 

caught  sight  of  the  young  man  a  buzz  of  exulta- 
tion arose. 

"  We  are  sure  of  gaming  our  cause,"  was  heard 
on  every  side.  "See  how  faint  and  ill  the  boy 
looks.  The  padres  must  have  kept  him  in  close 
confinement.  Shame  upon  them.  Their  evil 
practices  will  come  out  now."  The  trial  then 
proceeded  with  the  usual  forms.  Soon  it  was 
proved,  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  all,  that  the 
missionary,  far  from  abducting  Prosonno,  had 
received  him  into  his  house,  only  at  his  own  most 
urgent  request.  Granting  this  to  be  true,  Mo- 
hendro  now  deposed  that  his  son  was  under  age, 
and  on  this  ground  required  him  to  be  restored 
to  his  guardianship.  The  magistrate  shook  his 
head,  remarking — "To  me  the  lad  looks  as  if  he 
had  almost  attained  our  English  age  of  majority, 
instead  of  being,  as  you  say,  a  minor,  according 
to  Hindoo  law;  but  what  have  you  in  proof  of 
your  assertion  that  your  son  is  under  age?" 
Mohendro  immediately  produced  Prosonno's  horo- 
scope, supposed  to  have  been  drawn  out  on  the 
day  of  his  birth.  According  to  this  document, 
his  age  was  just  fifteen  years  and  nine  months. 
But  the  moment  Prosonno  saw  it  he  sprang  up 

8 


114  LIFE    BY   THE   GANGES. 

with  unaffected  indignation,  exclaiming,  "You 
do  not  mean  to  say,  father,  that  is  my  horoscope; 
indeed,  sir,  it  is  not  mine;"  and  the  magistrate  at 
once  perceived  it  was  a  forgery.  Merely  observ- 
ing therefore  that  the  paper  looked  remarkably 
clean  and  new,  he  continued,  "Religion  is  a  sub- 
ject on  which  every  individual,  able  to  discrimi- 
nate between  truth  and  falsehood,  must  be  allowed 
the  right  of  private  judgment.  I  shall  therefore 
question  your  son,  and  if  I  find  him  of  sound 
mind  and  good  understanding,  shall  leave  him  at 
liberty  to  follow  the  dictates  of  his  own  con- 
science." Prosouno's  friends  were  prepared  for 
this  emergency,  and  Surjo  immediately  stepped 
forward  to  say — 

"I  am  the  elder  brother  of  that  young  man, 
sir,  and  am  ready  to  take  my  oath  that  he  has 
been  imbecile  since  his  birth,  and  is  not  account- 
able for  any  of  his  actions." 

"Your  brother  shall  speak  for  himself,"  an- 
swered the  magistrate  sternly,  "and  then  we  shall 
soon  be  able  to  decide  on  the  truth  of  your  state- 
ment. Now,  young  man,"  he  continued,  turning 
to  Prosonno,  "did  you,  as  has  been  deposed  by 
this  missionary  gentleraan,  go  to  his  house  yester- 


PROSONNO    IS    EXAMINED.  115 

day  morning  and  beg  to  be  allowed  to  remain 
there?" 

"I  did,  sir,"  answered  Prosonno,  "and  had  I 
consulted  my  own  wishes  only  I  should  have  left 
my  home  a  month  since;  but  he  it  was  who 
desired  me  to  wait  and  consider  the  subject  ma- 
turely before  I  made  the  important  decision;  and 
it  was  only  yesterday,  when  he  felt  satisfied  I  had 
done  so,  that  he  consented  to  receive  me." 

"And  what  were  your  reasons  for  determining 
to  become  a  Christian?"  asked  the  magistrate. 

"In  the  first  place,  sir,"  said  Prosonno,  "I 
knew  that  the  idolatrous  worship  of  Hiudooism 
must  be  utterly  false;  in  the  second  place,  I 
believed  Christianity  to  be  the  true  religion  re- 
vealed by  God  to  man,  and  therefore  I  determined 
to  adopt  it." 

"What  led  you  to  this  belief,  young  man?" 
said  the  magistrate. 

"Sir,"  said  Prosonno,  "it  would  be  out  of  place 
here  were  I  to  lay  before  you  the  evidences  of 
Christianity;  let  me  assure  you,  however,  I  have 
studied  them  with  attention,  and  feel  satisfied  in 
my  own  mind  that  my  choice  has  been  made  in 
accordance  with  God's  will." 


116  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

"But  let  me  ask  you  to  name  some  of  those 
evidences,  for  the  satisfaction  of  your  friends?" 

Well  did  Prosonuo  reply  to  this  question, 
showing  how  clear  were  the  grounds  upon 
which  he  had  decided  to  change  his  religion, 
and  how  ready  he  was  to  endure  all  griefs  that 
he  might  attain  everlasting  life,  and  honor  the 
Saviour. 

When  Prosonno  had  concluded  every  eye  was 
turned,  in  breathless  expectation,  to  the  magis- 
trate. Each  thinking  man  among  that  great 
crowd  felt  that  Christianity  had  triumphed.  One 
exclaimed: — "Well,  the  padre's  have  made  good 
use  of  their  time  with  that  young  man,  at  any 
rate!"  A  white-headed  Brahmin  moved  sadly 
and  silently  out  of  the  court,  murmuring  to  him- 
self, "Our  gods  are  fallen,  are  fallen."  Others 
gnashed  their  teeth  at  the  missionary,  in  impotent 
rage. 

Mohendro  alone  seemed  to  hope  on.  He  had 
heard  Prosonno's  words  indeed,  but  they  had 
conveyed  no  meaning  to  his  mind ;  he  had  stood 
as  if  in  a  dream,  his  whole  soul  filled  with  one 
agonizing  anxiety, — that  of  being  able  to  call  his 
son  his  own  once  more:  and  now  that  he  had  fin- 


MOTHER   AND   SON.  117 

ished  speaking,  the  poor  old  man,  scarce  conscious 
of  what  he  d;d,  clasped  the  feet  of  the  magistrate, 
exclaiming  hurriedly,  "He  may  go  home  with  us 
now,  may  he  not,  sir?"  Even  the  official  was 
moved;  but  he  replied,  decidedly  though  kindly, 
"No,  I  cannot  oblige  your  son  to  do  that;  he  has 
embraced  Christianity,  and  given  most  excellent 
reasons  for  so  doing;  he  is  at  liberty  to  go  where 
he  will,  and  will  return,  I  suppose,  as  he  came, 
with  the  missionary."  Mohendro  uttered  a 
scream  and  would  have  fallen  had  not  Surjo  and 
Chondro,  who  had  foreseen  the  termination  of  this 
dreaded  scene,  stepped  forward  and  supported 
him.  "He  has  not  yet  seen  his  mother,"  said 
Mohendro.  The  magistrate  heard  his  words,  and 
said  immediately,  "Young  man,  I  had  forgotten; 
your  mother  waits  for  you  in  the  adjoining  room; 
go  to  her,  and  go  alone." 

Prosonno  turned  to  the  door  indicated,  his 
whole  frame  quivering  with  excess  of  emotion. 
In  vain  he  attempted  to  walk  with  his  wonted 
firm  step,  silent  agony  convulsed  his  every  move- 
ment, his  hand  was  cold  as  marble,  and,  as  if  to 
gain  a  momentary  relief,  he  pressed  it  over  his 
burning  brow,  where  the  large  veins,  distended 


118  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

and  swollen,  told  the  tale  of  anguish  he  would 
fain  have  concealed.  Involuntarily  a  prayer  es- 
caped his  lips,  "Saviour,  thou  of  woman  born, 
look  and  pity;"  and  Prosonno  was  in  his  mother's 
presence. 

"My  treasure,  my  moon,  the  star  of  my  life, 
what  have  my  ears  heard  this  day,"  she  exclaimed, 
bursting  into  a  flood  of  bitter  tears,  "that  you  are 
going  to  leave  me?  Leave  me  who  have  borne 
you  in  sorrow,  and  loved  you  from  your  baby- 
hood, have  nourished  and  cherished  you  till  you 
have  become  a  man!  You  leave  me!  No,  no, 
it  is  all  a  dream,  a  hideous  dream;  but  it  is  past, 
we  are  awake  now;  you  will  go  home  with  us, 
my  boy;  yes,  yes;  I  know  you  will." 

'•  Mother,  mother,"  exclaimed  Prosonno,  "this 
is  killing  me.  Oh,  desist!  or  you  will  drive  me 
mad.  My  God!  this  is  a  sacrifice,  but  not  too 
costly  for  thine  altar,"  murmured  the  poor  young 
man  in  vainly  suppressed  agony.  "Mother,  you 
must  let  me  go!" 

"  Let  you  go?  Never — never !  jewel  of  my  exist- 
ence," shrieked  the  heart-broken  woman,  clasping 
her  son  in  her  arms,  and  resting  her  head  on  his 
shoulder,  while  she  poured  forth  a  gush  of  Ori- 


MOTHER   AND   SON.  119 

ental  imagery,  at  one  time  the  most  touchingly 
plaintive,  at  another,  frantic  with  wild  despair. 
"How  dark  it  is!  no  sun,  no  moon,  no  'stars,  all 
have  set  in  wrath.  Woe  is  me!  What  have  I 
done  to  bring  down  this  curse  on  my  head?  My 
child,  you  have  been  the  light  of  our  house;  will 
you  leave  it  dark,  and  cold,  and  drear?  I  can- 
not live  without  you;  your  love  has  been  to  me 
what  the  dew  is  to  the  flowers;  what  the  cool 
shady  thicket  is  to  the  hunted  fawn ;  what  the 
protecting  boughs  of  the  peepul  tree  are  to  the 
little  birds  when  lightnings  are  abroad ;  what  the 
luscious  melon  with  its  rills  of  sugared  juice  is  to 
the  traveler  in  the  desert.  I  cannot  live  without 
you,  my  moon  of  gold,  my  star  of  silver,  my 
necklace  of  pearl,  my  diamond,  my  jewel,  my 
bird,  my  heart-treasure.  Oh,  if  you  do  not  re- 
turn your  mother  must  die,  must  die.  Bring  me 
the  poison  cup,  I  will  drink  it;  pierce  my  heart 
with  a  dagger,  and  let  my  life  blood  flow  ere  I 
see  the  child  I  have  nursed  and  cherished  leave 
me  to  herd  with  unclean  Christians,  with  filthy 
outcasts.  Pah !  must  that  sweet  mouth,  never 
touched  by  anything  but  fruit  and  milk  and 
sweetmeats,  Se  defiled  with  the  accursed  flesh  of 


12C  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

the  heifer  and  the  hog!  Must  those  coral  lips, 
which  have  never  quaffed  aught  but  heaven's  own 
drinks,  the  limpid  water,  or  the  juice  of  the  cocoa 
and  the  palm,  be  now  stained  and  besmeared  with 
that  disgusting,  reason-destroying  English  liquor 
they  call  wine?  Pah!  it  must  not  be!  it  must 
not  be !"  shrieked  the  half-frantic  woman  in  un- 
affected horror. 

"  Mother,  mother,"  interposed  Prosonno,  speak- 
ing wildly  and  hurriedly ;  "  do  not,  oh,  I  entreat 
you,  do  not  go  on  in  this  way;  I  cannot  tell 
you  how  precious  your  love  is  to  me,  more 
precious  than  aught  else,  except  my  Saviour  and 
my  duty."  But  he  checked  himself,  for  he  felt 
he  might  as  soon  speak  his  thoughts  to  the 
winds. 

"  Saviour !"  "  Duty  !"  The  words  conveyed  no 
meaning  to  the  poor  ignorant  Hindoo  woman ; 
while  Prosonno,  almost  involuntarily,  gave  pas- 
sionate vent  to  his  grief  in  the  words  he  had 
somewhere  read ;  "  A  terrible  sacrifice  thou 
claimest,  O  God,  from  creatures  in  whose  agoni- 
zing hearts  nature  is  strong  as  Death." 

But  the  sacrifice  was  offered ;  he  repented  it  not, 
recalled  it  not;  but  casting  one  last  look  of  love 


MOTHER   AND    SON. 


121 


towards  his  mother,  he  rushed  into  the  open  air. 
The  next  moment  found  him  surrounded  by  his 
Christian  friends,  on  his  way  to  his  Christian 
home. 


CHAPTER   V. 

QJ  ABBATH  evening  had  now  arrived ;  Prosonno 
K-)  had  spent  the  greater  part  of  the  day  in  earnest 
prayer  to  God  to  fit  him  for  the  holy  service  on 
which  he  was  entering.  Ail  fear  of  his  heathen 
relatives  carrying  him  off  forcibly,  or  using  per- 
sonal violence  to  himself,  had  entirely  passed 
away,  for  it  was  now  five  days  since  he  had  seen 
them.  It  was  with  a  lightened  and  grateful  heart, 
therefore,  that  he  stepped  into  the  carriage,  that  was 
to  convey  him,  with  the  missionary  and  his  faithful 
friend  Rdm  Doyal,  to  the  place  of  baptism.  The 
missionary  gave  directions  to  the  coachman  to 
drive  to  their  usual  house  of  worship,  and  taking 
his  seat,  said  cheerfully,  "  Now  thanks  be  to  God 
who  has  brought  this  painful  business  to  such  a 
happy  issue."  He  did  not  then  know  that  his 
young  disciple  had  yet  a  fiery  trial  awaiting  him, 
out  of  which  he  should  come  forth  like  silver 
seven  times  refined. 
122 


Fifty  armed  men  surrounded  them  instantly 


Page  123. 


THE  CONVERT'S  FUTURE.  123 

A  few  minutes'  drive  brought  them  to  a  turn 
in  the  road,  slightly  more  secluded  than  that 
which  they  had  already  traversed.  Prosonno's 
mind  was  engaged  in  preparing  a  reply  to  the 
questions  he  anticipated  would  be  put  to  him  at 
his  baptism,  while  the  good  missionary  seemed 
lost  in  a  reverie.  He  was  looking  into  the  future, 
and  a.  bright  vision  rose  up  before  his  mental  eye. 
Ram  Doyal  alone  was  not  at  ease.  He  looked 
suspiciously  among  the  trees.  At  length  he  ap- 
peared to  see  something,  and  sprang  out  of  the 
carriage,  exclaiming,  "  I  feared  it ;  I  feared  this 
was  but  a  false  peace."  But  it  was  all  too  late. 
Mohendro's  influence  and  money  had  bribed  the 
retainers  of  a  wealthy  acquaintance,  and  fifty 
armed  men  surrounded  them  instantly.  To  drive 
through  the  crowd  was  impossible.  Two  men 
took  hold  of  the  horses'  heads;  three  others 
dragged  the  coachman  from  the  box  and  kept 
him  prisoner :  while  Ram  Doyal,  with  a  bravery 
of  which  the  Bengalee  is  said  to  be  incapable, 
was  wrestling  hand  to  hand  with  two  athletic 
soldiers  from  the  Punjab,  who  stayed  his  progress 
in  going  for  help;  when  Surjo's  voice  was  heard 
calling  out,  "Fools,  let  the  Christian  dog  alone; 


124  "  LIFE   BY   THE    GANGES. 

it  is   my   brother,  men — my   brother — that   we 
want." 

To  push  the  missionary  violently  to  one  side  of 
the  road,  and  drag  the  defenseless  Prosonno  out 
of  the  carriage,  was  the  work  of  a  second.  The 
next  found  him  bruised  and  blindfolded  at  the 
bottom  of  another  vehicle,  which  dashed  over  the 
stones  with  the  speed  of  lightning. 

The  missionary  and  Rdm  Doyal  stood  as  in  a 
dream.  In  a  moment,  as  if  by  magic,  their  con- 
vert, horses,  carriages,  armed  men,  all  had  disap 
peared,  and  they  were  left  in  utter  darkness !  The 
ruffians  had  accomplished  their  object ;  to  elude 
justice  was  now  their  only  care.  With  heavy 
hearts  the  two  Christians  pursued  their  way  to  the 
church,  but  they  were  not  utterly  cast  down:  for 
a  still  small  voice  whispered,  "Lo,  I  am  with  you 
alway."  At  length  the  missionary  broke  out 
with  the  words;  "What  an  iniquitous  piece  of 
business;  Ram  Doyal!  We  must  bring  it  before 
the  civil  authorities  to-morrow  morning." 

"Sir,"  replied  Ram  Doyal,  "if  I  might  ven- 
ture to  make  a  suggestion,  I  should  say,  No,  to 
that  proposition." 

"Indeed,  why  so?" 


WHAT   IS   TO    BE   DONE?  125 

"Because,  sir,  notwithstanding  all  we  may  say 
V  the  contrary,  there  certainly  is  a  floating  idea 
a*  long  the  people,  that  Christianity  progresses  in 
India  because  it  is  the  religion  of  the  conquerors 
of  the  country;  and  I  think  we  ought  to  avoid 
aiiy  act  which  might  tend  to  foster  an  idea  so  hos- 
tile to  Christianity.  Suppose  we  apply  to  the 
magistrate  and  succeed  through  him  in  discover- 
ing my  poor  friend,  which  I  confess  appears  to 
me  exceedingly  improbable ;  we  could  not  avoid 
the  impression  going  abroad  that  he  became  a 
Christian  through  the  interference  of  the  British 
Government." 

The  missionary  replied  musingly,  "There  is 
something  in  that :  but  would  you  do  nothing  for 
poor  Prosonno?" 

"Only  what  the  Church  did  for  Peter;  pray 
for  him  unceasingly;  he  belongs  to  that  flock  of 
whom  it  is  written, '  not  one  of  them  shall  perish ;' 
and  mark  my  words,  sir,  he  will  be  delivered  safe 
to  us  again." 

"But  are  you  not  afraid  of  personal  violence 
for  him?  These  great  Hindoo  families  are  not 
strangers  to  the  properties  of  poisons,  and  know 
how  to  use  them  too;  do  they  not?  Female  dis- 


LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

honor  is  often  hidden  in  death ;  do  you  think  they 
would  hesitate  to  use  the  same  means  to  put  a  son 
out  of  the  way,  where  that  son  was  likely  to  cast 
an  indelible  blot  on  the  family  name?  Or,  even 
if  they  considered  this  as  going  too  far,  they 
might  administer  to  him,  what  always  seemed  to 
me  to  be  a  device  of  Satan's  own,  that  mind- 
destroying  drug  so  well-known  in  these  parts. 
To  think  of  that  noble  intellect  being  crushed 
forever.  I  dare  not  contemplate  it?" 

"  Pardon  me,  sir,  but  I  cannot  think  it  likely 
his  friends  would  resort  to  such  measures.  I 
would  fain  believe  that  the  stories  we  hear  respect- 
ing these  matters  are  exaggerated." 

"I  am  thankful  to  hear  you  say  so,  Ram 
Doyal ;  God  grant  that  our  dear  young  friend  be 
preserved  from  all  evil ;  but  I  feel  sad,  very  sad 
for  him." 

To  return  to  the  party  in  the  carriage.  For 
some  moments,  neither  of  the  two  brothers  spoke 
a  word.  Prosonno  was  stunned.  The  faith,  the 
hope,  the  holy  joy  that  a  moment  before  had  been 
his,  whither  had  they  flown  ?  The  darkness  that 
wrapt  his  physical  vision  was  not  more  dense  than 
the  darkness  that  had  fallen  upon  his  heart. 


THE  TEMPTER'S  WILES.  127 

"Was  there  a  God  in  heaven  after  all?"  "If 
Christ  were  God  indeed,  would  He  have  allowed 
so  shameful  a  defeat  to  His  cause  as  this  ?"  were 
questions  that  came  across  his  mind,  but  died 
away  unanswered  on  his  lips.  "Oh,  would  to 
heaven,"  exclaimed  the  young  man  in  the  bitter- 
ness of  his  grief,  "  would  to  heaven  that  the 
whole  universe  were  annihilated  if  it  were  only 
just  to  settle  by  fair  experiment  whether  Christi- 
anity or  Hindooism  had  the  slightest  claim  to 
truth." 

Courage !  poor  faltering  disciple.  The  tempter 
has  laid  his  deep  snares  for  you ;  and  for  the  mo- 
ment he  has  well  nigh  prevailed.  He  has  landed 
you  at  the  very  bottom  of  the  bottomless  pit ;  but 
courage !  a  Greater  than  he  hath  the  key  of  that 
pit,  and  He  will  lead  you  safely ;  it  may  be  by  a 
way  that  you  know  not ;  but  be  assured  He  will 
lead  you  safely  into  the  sunlight  of  His  presence ! 

Surjo  saw  that  his  brother  Prosonno's  thoughts 
were  wandering  far  from  the  immediate  cause  of 
trouble,  for  instead  of  trying  to  free  himself,  he 
was  lying  as  he  had  been  thrown,  motionless  at 
the  bottom  of  the  carriage ;  and  yet  he  was  not 
seriously  hurt.  His  brother  had  prevented  that. 


128  LIFE   BY   THE    GANGES. 

Interpreting  his  stillness  to  imply  indifference  on 
the  subject  of  going  home,  or  perhaps  even  posi- 
tive pleasure  that  he  had  thus  been  rescued,  before 
he  had  made  the  final  sacrifice,  and  knowing  that 
all  fear  of  a  pursuit  was  ended  now,  Surjo  briskly 
tore  off  the  bandages  from  his  eyes,  and  attempted 
jocosely  to  rally  his  brother.  It  was  a  feeble  at- 
tempt at  best.  The  moment  he  caught  sight  of 
his  brother's  pale,  sorrow-stricken  face,  he  saw  that 
the  arrow  had  entered  into  his  soul,  and  he 
changed  his  tone  to  one  of  persuasion  and  remon- 
strance. 

"Come,  come,  Prosonno,"  he  said,  "I  am  sure 
if  the  truth  were  known,  you  are  as  glad  as  I 
am,  that  you  are  well  out  of  the  hands  of  those 
Christians,  with  their  abominable  practices  and 
delusive  hopes." 

"Delusive  or  not,  I  was  happy  in  them  an  hour 
ago;  and  what  have  you  given  me  in  their  place? 
The  blackness  of  despair;  for  a  Hindoo  I  will 
never,  never  be  again.  You  will  make  me  an  in- 
fidel, and  the  life  and  death  of  an  infidel  are  worse 
than  the  life  and  death  of  a  beast.  That  I  well 
know.  Yes,  it  is  coming  to  that.  Heaven,  earth, 
hell,  are  all  disappearing.  O  God  (if  there  be  a 


CONVERSATION  BETWEEN  THE  BROTHERS.  129 

God),  blot  me  out  of  this  hateful  universe." 
Surjo  was  not  prepared  for  this  sudden  outburst, 
but  he  was  wily  enough  to  take  advantage  of  it. 

"Just  so,  brother,"  he  said,  "just  so.  If  your 
God  had  been  really  God,  could  he  not  have 
delivered  you  out  of  my  hands?  Your  God, 
indeed!  The  cudgels  of  a  few  strong  Rajpoots 
proved  stronger  than  He,  when  put  to  the  proof! 
And  you  were  about  to  trust  yourself  to  a  God 
like  that?  A  good  thing  I  am  sure,  that  there  are 
some  people  in  the  family  left  in.  possession  of 
their  senses,  or  you  would  have  been  I  know  not 
where  by  this  time!"  Were  not  these  words  a 
very  echo  of  those  suggested  by  Satan  to  Pro- 
sonno's  own  heart  but  a  moment  ago?  And  yet 
coming  from  the  lips  of  another,  and  clothed  as 
they  were  now  in  this  tangible  form,  they  roused 
the  better  spirit  of  the  young  man,  and  he  ex- 
claimed almost  fiercely, 

"Do  not  blaspheme;  do  not  blaspheme.  What 
did  I  say?  Forget  what  I  said.  My  God  is 
God ;  He  will  save  me  yet.  He  has  a  purpose  to 
accomplish  by  this;  yes,  a  purpose,  and  you  shall 
feel  it  and  acknowledge  it." 

Prosonno  did  not  himself  then  know  the  ter~ 


130  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

rible  import  of  his  words,  nor  how  literally  they 
were  destined  to  be  accomplished  at  a  later  pe- 
riod. 

"  Where  are  you  taking  me?"  he  next  inquired; 
"  we  are  not  on  our  way  home." 

"Home!"  replied  Surjo,  "no,  not  home;  your 
flight  made  that  too  hot  for  us;  it  used  to  be  sur- 
rounded from  morning  to  night  by  a  set  of  im- 
pertinent priests,  declaring  we  had  all  lost  caste, 
through  this  foolishness  of  yours!  Think  of 
that,  Master  Prosonno!  Think  of  our  father,  the 
pure  and  austere  Hindoo,  who  never  neglected  a 
poojah  in  his  life;  think  of  his  being  told  that  he 
had  now  no  name  or  place  in  Hindooism,  and  all 
for  you,  you  wretch ;  my  blood  boils  at  the  bare 
recollection  of  it,  curse  you !" 

"  Did  he  curse  me  ?" 

"No,  he  quieted  the  Brahmins  with  gifts  of 
money  as  well  as  he  could,  and  told  them  you 
were  insane,  and  a  thousand  other  things;  but 
nothing  would  do;  the  more  they  got  the  more 
they  wanted ;  it  was  insult  and  extortion,  and  ex- 
tortion and  insult,  from  day  to  day,  till  we  could 
bear  it  no  longer.  And  then  your  wife's  father 
brought  things  to  a  climax  by  coming  to  claim 


THE  UNCLE'S  HOUSE.  131 

his  daughter,  and  insinuating  that  we  had  encour- 
aged and  abetted  your  becoming  a  Christian  for 
the  sake  of  pecuniary  gain;  and  that  Karainee 
was  intended  as  a  sacrifice  on  the  same  shrine." 

"Did  father  let  her  go?" 

"No,  he  did  not,"  replied  Surjo,  eagerly  draw- 
ing encouragement  from  the  first  gleam  of  interest 
that  had  lighted  up  Prosonno's  languid  counte- 
nance. "No,  he  said  he  would  on  no  account 
part  with  Kaminee,  for  he  believed  that  she 
would  be  the  one  attraction  that  might  possibly 
draw  you  home  again." 

Prosonno  murmured,  "  My  darling,  and  I  could 
have  you  again  by  only — but  no,  I  must  not,  will 
not;  for  he  that  loveth  father,  or  mother,  or  wife, 
more  than  Christ,  is  not  worthy  of  Him;  and,  so 
help  me  God,  I  will  be  found  worthy." 

Surjo  thought  it  best  not  to  seem  to  hear,  and 
went  on — "  Well,  it  was  with  great  difficulty  that 
we  got  your  father-in-law  away,  and  he  went 
vowing  vengeance  on  the  whole  family,  in  case 
Kaminee  was  persuaded  to  join  you,  and  mutter- 
ing something  about  returning  at  night  to  carry 
her  off  by  stealth;  but  that  disgrace  was  not  to  be 


132  LIFE   BY   THE    GANGES. 

risked,  so  we  adjourned  to  uncle's  house  in  the 
country,  and  there  you  will  find  us  all." 

Prosonno  a»ked  no  more  questions.  Escape 
from  his  uncle's  house  would  be  ten  times  more 
difficult  than  from  their  house  in  Calcutta;  that 
he  knew,  but  loving  trust  was  fast  returning  to 
him,  and  to  that  faith  stone  walls  and  iron  bars 
presented  no  barrier  whatever. 

Hard  driving  for  four  hours  brought  them  to 
their  destination.  As  they  approached  the  gate, 
a  flaring  torch  held  out  of  the  carriage  (a  sign 
previously  agreed  upon)  showed  the  family  within 
that  Surjo  had  been  successful;  and  a  wild  shout 
of  triumphant  Hori  Bol  ran  through  the  halls, 
though  it  was  near  midnight,  and  retainers  and 
household  servants  now  joined  in  full  chorus. 
Never  a  word  did  Prosonno  utter,  while  he  was 
literally  dragged  out  of  the  carriage  amid  joyful 
congratulations  and  noisy  vociferation ;  his  father 
burst  into  tears  and  fell  on  his  neck;  while  Chon- 
dro  and  Nobo  had  a  thousand  questions  to  ask 
respecting  the  plan  of  escape  and  the  discomfiture 
of  the  hated  missionary.  But  as  long  as  the  ob- 
ject of  all  this  rejoicing  continued  dejected  and 
silent,  their  triumph  was  incomplete;  so  they  be- 


PROSONNO    CARRIED    HOME.  133 

thought  themselves  of  sending  Prosonno  to  the 
women's  apartments  in  hope  that  his  mother 
might  be  successful  in  rousing  him  from  his 
seeming  apathy.  As  he  went  along,  Prosonno 
carefully  took  notice  of  each  unguarded  passage, 
or  frail-looking  bar,  laying  up  his  observations 
ior  future  use.  His  mother  met  him  in  the 
verandah.  At  sight  of  her  his  long  pent-up 
feelings  found  vent  for  the  first  time,  and  he 
burst  into  a  flood  of  tears.  "  O  mother,  mother, 
this  was  not  right  of  you !"  he  exclaimed ;  "  why 
have  you  brought  me  back  after  all  I  told  you  in 
court?  I  am  a  Christian  by  choice,  indeed  I  am. 
O  mother,  why  did  you  not  believe  me?  Now  I 
am  of  all  men  the  most  miserable.  You  keep 
me  from  joining  the  Christians,  and  a  Hindoo  I 
can  never  be  again.  I  see  no  shore  to  my  sea." 

"But  why  should  you  not  be  a  Hindoo  again, 
my  boy  ?"  asked  his  mother,  mistaking  his  mean- 
ing ;  "  atonement  shall  be  made  for  you ;  we  will 
spare  no  expense.  Oh !  my  child,  we  would 
rather  beggar  ourselves  to  the  last  farthing,  than 
that  you  should  be  put  out  of  caste.  Besides,  you 
have  not  really  lost  caste.  You  have  not  been 
baptized.  That  hateful  charm  has  not  been  ut- 


134  LIFE   BY  THE   GANGES. 

tered  in  your  ear.  The  morsel  of  beef  has  not 
been  put  into  your  mouth  !  Oh  !  say  it  has  not !" 

"  No,  mother,  of  course  not ;  nor  would  it  have 
been  had  I  been  baptized.  Baptism  has  no  charm 
nor  moutro,  nor  has  it  anything  whatever  to  do 
with  food.  It  is  a  washing  with  pure  water,  in 
token  of  faith,  that  thus  the  soul  is  purified  from 
all  sin  and  uncleanness." 

"  So  they  made  you  believe,"  said  the  woman  ; 
"  so  they  made  you  believe :  you  would  have  found 
it  as  I  tell  you ;  but  the  gods  be  praised,  that  ca- 
lamity has  been  averted.  Prosonno,  would  you 
not  like  to  see  your  wife  again,  your  beautiful, 
your  much  loved  wife?"  she  continued.  "I 
know  you  would ;  but  no  wife  can  be  yours,  until 
you  have  made  full  atonement.  Kaminee  said 
she  would  rather  die  than  see  you  whilst  you  are 
out  of  caste ;  so  that  the  sooner  you  make  up  your 
mind  the  better.  To  the  Christians  you  do  not 
return  :  your  alternatives  are  these ;  either  a  life 
of  imprisonment  and  suffering,  or  your  former 
life,  as  the  darling  of  the  family,  the  light  of  our 
dwelling." 

"Then  I  choose  the  former,"  said  the  noble 
young  man.  "O  mother,  I  had  wished  to  see 


DISCUSSIONS   AS  TO   HIS   RESTORATION.      135 

Kaminee  to-night,  I  had  so  much  to  say  to  her. 
But  since  that  is  denied  me,  show  me  into  a  room ; 
I  want  to  be  alone ;  to  think  and  to  pray." 

The  poor  mother  hardly  knew  her  son  again. 
His  very  phraseology  was  altered.  "  What  is  it 
to  pray  ?"  she  thought.  But  she  did  not  think 
long  about  that.  Her  mother's  instinct  told  her 
he  wanted  rest,  and  putting  him  into  a  quiet 
though  well-guarded  room,  she  left  him  with  a 
sad  countenance  and  an  anxious  heart. 

Except  in  the  case  of  Prosonno,  who  snatched 
a  couple  of  hours'  refreshing  sleep  towards  the 
morning,  no  other  eye  of  all  that  vast  household 
was  closed  in  slumber  that  night.  The  Brahmins 
were  sent  for  to  plan  and  devise  how  the  erring 
one  might  be  received  into  caste,  as  quickly  as 
possible.  They  were  all  of  one  opinion  ;  Prosonno 
must  give  his  full  and  free  consent,  or  the  thing 
could  not  be  done.  The  atonement  was  to  be 
made  by  the  young  man  shaving  off  the  hair  of 
his  head,  and  his  moustache,  before  some  idol 
shrine,  and  then  offering  some  hundred  rupees' 
worth  of  cowrie  shells,  which  were  afterwards  to 
be  taken  by  the  Brahmins.  These  Brahmins 
were  also  to  have  large  gifts  in  money,  and  a 


136  LIFE   BY   THE    GANGES. 

sumptuous  feast.  Thus  it  was  supposed  the  jus- 
tice of  their  gods  would  be  satisfied,  their  auger 
be  appeased,  and  the  sinner  be  saved ! 

But  the  morning  brought  with  it  no  change  in 
the  constancy  of  Prosonno.  He  deeply  felt  the 
degradation  of  having  his  breakfast  served  out 
to  him,  much  in  the  same  fashion  as  it  would 
have  been  to  a  dog,  and  that  in  a  house  where 
every  one  but  a  few  days  since  would  have  de- 
lighted to  do  him  honor.  But  even  this  disgrace 
he  knew  had  been  borne  by  his  Master,  when  in 
the  house  of  the  proud  Pharisee;  He  was  denied 
the  salutation  kiss  and  the  anointing  oil  that 
would  have  been  accorded  had  he  come  of  a 
higher  caste;  and  Prosonno  loved  to  suffer  with 
his  Master. 

His  relatives  grew  more  and  more  anxious,  and 
determined  to  carry  out  a  system-  of  operations 
that  had  proved  successful  in  similar  cases.  Know- 
ing that  Christianity  is  a  religion  of  holiness,  and 
that  no  men  of  evil  lives  care  to  embrace  it,  they 
were  ready  utterly  to  corrupt  his  moral  nature, 
and  lead  him  by  the  practice  of  wickedness  from 
the  religion  which  he  had  in  heart  embraced. 
"Wme  and  dancing-girls  were  on  several  occasions 


THE   GRIEF   OF   THE   FAMILY.  137 

introduced  into  the  house,  and,  as  if  in  kindness, 
he  was  urged  by  their  means  to  shake  off  the  sad- 
ness in  which  he  lived.  But  strong  in  faith,  put- 
ting his  whole  trust  in  the  mighty  help  of  God, 
he  was  able  to  resist  the  spells  and  sorceries  that 
had  been  prepared  for  his  ruin.  He  resolutely 
shut  himself  up  in  the  silence  of  his  own  room, 
which  he  barred  against  the  intrusion  of  tempta- 
tions so  dangerous. 

Many  bitter  days  followed  in  Prosonno's  history. 
The  plans  of  his  relatives  had  been  frustrated ; 
their  money  had  been  thrown  away ;  each  moment 
the  priests  were  becoming  more  clamorous  that 
the  atonement  should  be  made ;  failing  that,  they 
threatened  to  put  the  whole  family  out  of  caste 
for  harboring  a  Christian.  They  wanted  their 
gifts,  and  they  knew  this  threat  would  hasten 
them.  The  mother's  heart  yearned  to  embrace 
her  son.  The  wife  pined  in  her  widowhood. 
Grief  and  shame  were  fast  doing  their  work  on 
the  old  father ;  his  hair  had  grown  whiter,  and 
his  step  less  steady,  during  the  last  few  days. 
The  stern  and  bigoted  Surjo,  who  considered 
himself  in  some  sort  the  head  of  the  family,  bit 
his  lip  with  rage  each  time  a  slur  was  cast  on  the 


138  LIFE   BY  THE   GANGES. 

honor  of  that  family.  The  uncle  hinted  he  had 
had  encngh  of  strange  doings  in  his  house,  and 
that  he  would  be  glad  to  be  left  in  quiet  once 
more.  The  grandmother,  sad,  silent,  tearful,  stole 
softly  backwards  and  forwards  from  Prosonno's 
room,  (now  become  a  prisoner's  cell),  and  said 
nothing.  But  she  watched,  and  watched,  and 
watched ;  what  did  the  old  woman  suspect  ?  She 
had  constituted  herself  Prosonno's  sole  attendant ; 
everything  that  he  ate  she  prepared  with  her  own 
hands,  and  she  was  jealous  lest  any  one  should  do 
aught  for  her  favorite.  Perhaps  it  was  this  that 
made  her  so  watchful. 

His  relatives  had  almost  given  up  speaking  to 
the  young  Christian,  except  to  load  him  with 
abuse.  Wine,  pleasure,  money,  all  had  been 
offered  him  in  vain.  Hindooism  had  nothing 
more  to  offer;  so  now  it  resorted  to  persecution, 
to  cruelty,  to  abuse.  But  for  his  grandmother, 
who  insisted  that  starvation  was  not  the  way  to 
win  him  over,  Prosonno  would  have  been  fed  on 
rice  and  water.  As  it  was,  every  luxury  and 
comfort  were  denied  him.  His  bed  was  taken 
away,  smoking  was  forbidden ;  coarse  clothes  were 
substituted  for  his  fine  ones;  he  was  not  allowed 


PROSONNO  IS  HARDLY  TREATED.     139 

to  go  to  either  tank  or  river  for  the  purposes  of 
bathing,  (an  immense  privation  to  a  Bengalee); 
and,  worst  of  all,  he  had  no  books,  no  writing 
materials,  no  employment  of  any  kind.  Consti- 
tutions less  tenderly  organized  have  suffered  under 
such  an  ordeal  as  this.  A  man  could  hardly  go 
through  it,  and  come  out  unchanged.  Surjo 
seemed  to  calculate  on  this.  He  constantly  af- 
firmed that  his  brother  was  insane,  and  that  he 
was  not  accountable  for  his  actions;  though  an 
unprejudiced  examiner  would  have  discovered 
nothing  beyond  the  deep  dejection  of  his  mind, 
consequent  on  the  painful  circumstances  in  which 
he  was  placed.  However  that  might  be,  he  man- 
aged to  raise  the  question  among  the  Brahmins, 
(without  seeming  to  be  the  propounder  of  it), 
whether  or  not  atonement  could  be  made  for  a 
man  out  of  his  senses.  There  was  much  discus- 
sion on  the  subject,  and  a  variety  of  opinions  was 
expressed.  Only  on  one  point  the  disputants 
were  agreed;  that  atonement  was  impossible,  un- 
less the  subject  of  it  were  willing  thus  to  receive 
absolution.  Just  as  they  arrived  at  this  conclu- 
sion, Surjo  by  chance  happened  to  pass  through 
the  room. 


140  LIFE   BY   THE    GANGES. 

"It  seems  to  me,  gentlemen,"  he  remarked, 
with  a  slight  degree  of  irritation  and  impatience 
in  his  tone;  "it  seems  to  me,  that  you  are  wasting 
your  time  over  a  mere  quibble.  An  idiot  may 
be  persuaded  to  anything,  and,  I  fancy,  would 
make  no  stronger  objection  to  having  his  sins 
pardoned  in  any  way  you  chose,  than  he  would 
make  to  a  good  dinner.  Why  not  say  at  once,  an 
idiot  may  be  saved?" 

"Ah,  I  see,  I  see,"  muttered  the  oldest  Brah- 
min, on  whose  clouded  intellects  Surjo's  words 
seemed  to  have  thrown  a  new  light.  "Well, 
then,  suppose  we  do  say  that  a  man  out  of  his 
senses  may  be  put  all  right." 

"Thank  the  gods  that  admission  is  something 
tangible  at  last,"  murmured  Surjo  between  his 
teeth,  as  he  glided,  snake-like,  out  of  the  apart- 
ment. 

In  the  meanwhile,  the  ladies,  always  the  most 
credulous,  the  most  superstitious,  and  the  most 
loving  of  the  human  family,  set  on  foot  a  curious 
ceremony,  the  purpose  of  which  was  to  gain  back 
for  his  wife  those  lost  affections  which  he  and  the 
rest  foolishly  believed  Prosonno  had  bestowed  on 
some  strange  woman  among  the  Christians.  A 


INCANTATIONS.  141 

wily  magician  was  sent  for,  a  Brahmin  of  the 
very  lowest  class.  His  peculiar  talent  lay  in  the 
art  of  Bosee  Koron,  or  making  one  man  subject 
to  another;  and  Kaminee,  with  tears  in  her  eyes, 
related  every  particular  of  her  sad  story,  and 
begged  him  to  use  all  his  divinations,  to  make 
her  husband's  heart  yield  to  her  once  more,  as  it 
was  wont  to  do  in  times  past.  He  declared  he 
could  accomplish  this  difficult  matter,  but  only 
with  immense  pain  and  danger  to  himself;  and 
that,  therefore  it  would  cost  a  great  deal  of  money. 
Kaminee  readily  agreed  to  his  demand,  and  so  he 
proceeded  with  his  incantations.  He  first  asked 
for  a  suitable  apartment  in  the  house,  where  he 
erected  a  small  rude  altar  to  Chondi,  one  of  the 
numerous  forms  of  the  goddess  Durgd,  sur- 
rounded the  shrine  with  leaves  of  the  mango  tree, 
and  offered  on  it  rice,  vermillion,  and  other  such 
articles.  Ten  whole  days,  the  magician  said,  he 
must  spend  before  this  idol,  repeating  various 
charms  and  prayers.  For  the  next  ten  days,  a 
prayer  must  be  daily  offered  at  a  place  when 
three  roads  meet.  For  ten  days  after  that,  incan- 
tations and  offerings  were  to  be  presented  to  the 
Granges ;  and,  most  horrible  of  all,  the  three  days 


142  LIFE    BY   THE   GANGES. 

pucceeding  those  were  to  be  spent  by  the  magician 
at  the  burning-place  of  the  dead,  amid  half-con- 
sumed bodies,  dying  men,  and  corpses,  in  every 
stage  of  putrefaction;  the  last  rite  of  all  being 
that  he  should  get  the  corpse  of  a  Pariah,  and 
seating  himself  on  its  chest,  h-  should  invoke 
Durga  with  special  earnestness.  It  was  expected 
that  the  goddess  would  then  appear  to  him.  If 
he  had  the  presence  of  mind  to  say,  at  the  right 
moment,  "Holy  mother,  now  thou  art  here; 
grant  me  my  request," — then  all  would  be  well, 
and  on  the  thirty-third  day,  Kaminee  would  find 
her  husband  all  her  own  again ;  but  if,  on  the 
contrary,  the  magician  were  to  allow  evil  thoughts 
to  fill  his  heart  at  the  sight  of  the  goddess,  then 
the  ghost  of  the  dead  Pariah,  on  whose  body  he 
was  seated,  would  suddenly  appear,  leap  on  him, 
and  strangle  him,  and  he  would  never  be  heard 
of  more! 

But,  oh,  those  long  three-and-thirty  days! 
How  were  their  weary  hours  to  be  dragged  along, 
while  a  foul  outcast  remained  in  the  house,  while 
the  family  was  threatened  with  a  suspension  of 
all  its  religious  privileges!  No,  they  could  not 
wait,  it  was  impossible;  something  else  must  be 


THE   POISONED   SHERBET.  143 

done.  So,  at  least,  thought  Surjo.  Besides,  he 
had  not  much  faith  in  the  magician's  power  over 
a  Christian.  "Physical  force  is  the  only  thing 
for  these  men,"  muttered  he;  "as  for  charms,  we 
have  tried  those  already ;  but  they  have  a  coun- 
ter-charm ready  for  all  emergencies."  Surjo  went 
out  frequently  during  the  next  few  days,  and  had 
one  followed  him,  it  would  have  appeared  that 
the  end  of  all  his  walks  was  the  abode  of  a  hide- 
ous hag  or  sorceress,  in  a  lowly  spot  many  miles 
away.  There  were  women  of  the  same  character 
much  nearer  home.  It  was  impossible  to  say 
why  Surjo  did  not  consult  them.  His  grand- 
mother alone  seemed  to  guess  at  some  reason,  for 
each  time  he  came  in,  she  watched  his  every  look 
and  action ;  though  so  long  as  he  kept  away  from 
her  favorite  Prosonno,  the  old  lady  seemed  satis- 
fied. 

At  length,  to  the  astonishment  of  all,  even  of 
the  priests,  Surjo  gave  out  that  in  two  days  full 
atonement  would  be  made  by  his  younger  brother 
for  his  sin  of  going  among  the  Christians.  This 
he  declared  had  been  intimated  to  him  in  private 
by  Prosonno,  who,  after  holding  out  so  long,  was 
now  naturally  shy  of  publicly  recanting ;  but  the 


144  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

grandmother,  who  alone  of  all  the  family  had 
constant  intercourse  with  him,  saw  no  symptoms 
of  a  change.  However,  the  preparations  for  the 
rite  of  atonement  went  on,  and  great  rejoicings 
prevailed  in  the  house.  As  his  grandmother  was 
going  into  Prosonno's  room  with  his  supper  that 
night,  Surjo  stopped  her,  as  if  by  accident,  saying: 
"Here,  Thdkur  M&,  I  have  been  brewing  some 
sherbet  for  myself;  you  may  as  well  take  Pro- 
sonno  a  glass  of  it,  as  a  loving  cup  from  his 
brother." 

"  I  am  glad  to  see  you  acting  in  rather  a  more 
brotherly  way  lately,  Surjo,"  replied  the  grand- 
mother, while  she  took  the  glass  out  of  his  hand. 
As  soon  as  he  was  out  of  sight,  she  coolly  threw 
the  contents  out  of  the  window,  murmuring, 
"  There !  that  puts  an  end  to  our  grand  feast  of 
atonement,  but  I  cannot  help  it.  I  cannot  have 
that  glorious  intellect  destroyed."  To  get  some 
more  sherbet  ready,  and  give  it  to  Prosonno  from 
his  brother,  was  the  work  of  a  moment.  As  she 
presented  it,  Prosonno  looked  inquiringly  at  her, 
merely  saying — 

"From  Surjo,  grandmother?" 

"  Yes,  boy,  drink  it.     I  say  so." 


SURJO   BAFFLED.  145 

His  grandmother  had  never  deceived  him  yet, 
and  so  he  drank  the  delicious  draught. 

The  whole  of  the  next  day,  Surjo  appeared  very 
uneasy.  He  did  not  go  into  Prosonno's  apart- 
ment, but  he  hung  round  it,  as  if  expecting  to 
hear  some  startling  news;  but  his  grandmother 
went  in  and  out,  and  had  nothing  to  communicate. 
The  great  day  of  the  feast  arrived.  Nothing 
could  control  his  impatience.  Now  he  burst  into 
his  brother's  room  saying — 

"Come  now,  Prosonno;  you  promised  you 
would  make  atonement  to-day:  come  all  is 
ready." 

"Promised  what?  I  don't  know  what  you 
mean,  brother,"  exclaimed  the  astonished  young 
man.  "  Oh,  it  is  all  very  fine  to  say  so  now," 
replied  Surjo  in  a  passion  of  rage.  "  Don't  you 
remember  telling  me  the  day  before  yesterday, 
that  you  repented  of  your  errors,  and  were  ashamed 
of  your  folly,  as  well  you  might  be,  you  young 
fool !  And  now  you  pretend  to  have  forgotten 
again !" 

"  I  repent  of  nothing,  and  the  only  error  I  am 
ashamed  of  is  the  error  of  having  remained  a 

Hindoo  so  long,  worshipping  idols  instead  of  the 
10 


146  LIFE    BY    THE    GANGES. 

God  of  heaven  and  earth,"  quietly  answered  Pro- 
son  no. 

"Hear  him,"  exclaimed  Surjo,  "this  in  a  Hin- 
doo house,  surrounded  by  Brahmin  priests !  But 
he  is  mad ;  that  is  the  fact  of  the  matter.  I  al- 
ways knew  he  was  mad,  but  people  would  not 
believe  me.  Will  they  believe  it  now  ?" 

"  I  don't  see  it :"  muttered  the  head  priest,  who 
began  to  think  he  had  been  trifled  with,  in  the 
matter  of  the  ceremony  of  that  day;  "but  we 
grant  that  it  may  be  so.  You  said,  Surjo  Baboo, 
that  an  insane  man  might  be  persuaded  to  any- 
thing, pray  be  quick  then,  and  persuade  this  mad 
brother  of  yours ;  for  our  rites  wait  for  no  one, 
and  unless  the  atonement  be  fulfilled  this  very 
day,  I  and  my  fellow  Brahmins  leave  this  house 
under  our  censure  and  CURSE.  You  have  had 
a  Christian  living  here  this  fortnight,  and  yet 
you  pretend  to  be  orthodox  Hindoos  !  Stuff  and 
nonsense !  We  will  not  bear  it  any  longer." 

In  vain  Surjo  raged,  and  declared  it  was  mad- 
ness to  listen  to  madmen,  and  folly  to  hearken  to 
fools.  Prosonno  was  both  a  madman  and  a  fool ; 
and  surely  atonement  might  be  made  for  him,  and 
he.  be  restored  to  caste,  without  all  this  fuss  on 


PROSONNO'S    FIRMNESS.  147 

the  subject  of  willingness  and  unwillingness? 
But  the  Brahmins  were  firm;  and  even  had  they 
been  inclined  to  yield,  Prosonno  dashed  all  their 
hopes  to  the  ground,  by  saying  in  his  calmest 
manner,  "  The  moment  I  am  set  free  again  I  shall 
return  to  the  Christians.  Your  money  and  your 
pains  will  all  be  thrown  away  on  me." 

"You  shall  never  return  to  the  Christians," 
almost  shrieked  out  Surjo,  quite  livid  with  pas- 
sion. 

"  I  am  prepared  for  that,"  replied  Prosonno ; 
"this  room  will  prove  my  grave,  with  you  for 
my  guardian ;  I  see  that  plainly  enough ;  but  for 
that  very  reason  am  I  the  more  determined  not 
to  yield  up  my  Christian  faith.  I  have  served 
Satan  all  my  life,  and  had  hoped  that  I  might  be 
spared  yet  some  years  to  serve  Christ.  But  if 
that  is  denied  me,  I  rejoice  to  have  at  least  this 
one  opportunity  of  testifying  my  love  for  Him. 
He  has  promised  that  if  I  am  faithful  unto  death, 
He  will  give  me  a  crown  of  life.  You  have  no- 
thing like  that  to  offer  me." 

"And  you  believe  that  nonsense?"  asked  a 
dozen  voices. 

"  Yes,  I  believe  it  fully,  firmly,"  said  Prosonno. 


148  LIFE   BY   THE    GANGES. 

"Then  those  Christians  do  use  sorceries  and 
enchantments;  they  have  bewitched  you,"  cried 
out  the  chief  Brahmin. 

"As  you  please,"  replied  Prosonno.  "It  is 
quite  true  that  the  word  of  God  is  quick  and 
powerful,  and  sharper  than  any  two-edged  sword. 
It  is  like  a  fire,  and  like  a  hammer,  that  breaketh 
the  rock  in  pieces.  The  sharpness  of  that  sword 
has  cut  through  prejudices  that  date  back  as  far 
as  my  babyhood.  That  fire  has  consumed  the 
love  of  sin  in  me,  though  alas !  I  still  sin,  for 
what  I  would  not,  that  I  do.  And  that  hammer 
has  broken  in  pieces  this  hard  heart,  and  made  it 
melt  at  the  remembrance  of  Jesus'  love.  But 
beyond  this,  I  know  of  no  sorcery  or  enchant- 
ment, nor  will  anything  that  you  can  say  deprive 
me  of  my  hope.  You  can  kill  me  outright ;  but 
vou  cannot  change  my  mind." 

"I  doubt  whether  I  can  ever  kill  him,"  thought 
Surjo,  who  like  all  thorough  idolaters  was  blindly 
superstitious,  and  who  believed,  in  spite  of  all  his 
brother  might  say,  that  he  certainly  did  possess 
some  counter-charm  to  his  machinations.  "I 
cannot  conceive  how  that  poison  could  fail  to  act. 
The  old  hag  told  me  that  in  twenty  four  hours  it 


SURJO    BAFFLED   AND    ENRAGED.  149 

would  be  certain  to  send  its  victim  raving  mad, 
for  a  time  at  least;  and  then  I  have  known  so 
many  instances;  how  is  it?  I  cannot  make  it 
out;  I  wonder  if  he  ever  drank  that  draught." 
Such  was  the  burden  of  Surjo's  soliloquy,  while 
he  said  aloud 

"Well,  I  suppose  you  want  me  to  disbelieve 
the  evidence  of  my  own  senses.  I  tell  you  I 
won't,  young  man ;  I  repeat  that,  the  day  before 
yesterday,  you  promised  me  that  the  atonement 
should  be  made  on  this  day,  and  it  shall  be 
made."  "I  never  promised,"  replied  Prosonno; 
"and  your  foolish,  impious  atonement  shall  not 
be  made:  I  am  a  free  agent  in  that  at  least,  thank 
God.  You  must  either  be  a  dreamer  or  a  liar, 
Surjo,  to  say  that  I  promised  anything  of  the 
sort," 

"That  to  me!  That  to  your  elder  brother  I" 
shouted  Surjo;  "but  hold,  I  have  proofs:  did  you, 
or  did  you  not  drink  a  cup  of  sherbet  I  sent 
you  in  token  of  our  compact  on  the  night  of 
which  I  speak?" 

"I  drank  the  cup  of  sherbet,  and  grandmother 
said  it  was  from  you;  but  I  heard  of  no  compact, 
and  acknowledge  none,"  returned  Prosonno. 


150  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

"Foiled  again,"  muttered  Surjo;  "he  has  & 
charm,  I  am  sure  he  has.  Ah !  those  vile  Chris- 
tian sorcerers!" 

Mohendro  here  interposed  with  tears  in  his  eyes, 
"Let  the  boy  go,  my  son,"  he  said,  "we  shall 
have  no  more  comfort  in  him.  Surely  I  must 
have  committed  some  unpardonable  sin  in  a 
former  birth  to  have  drawn  down  such  a  curse  on 
my  head!  Oh!  what  a  fool  you  are,  Prosonno. 
If  you  only  knew  how  contrary  to  your  own 
interests  you  are  acting;  but  I  might  as  well  talk 
to  the  wind  as  to  you." 

"And  to  just  as  much  purpose,  father,"  replied 
Prosonno;  "if  it  is  my  religion  that  you  wish  me 
to  change,  that  I  will  not  do." 

"There  we  have  heard  quite  enough  of  that," 
said  his  uncle  angrily;  "this  is  my  house,  Surjo, 
and  I  insist  on  that  senseless  fellow  being  turned 
out  of  it.  Let  the  Brahmins  change  this  day's  cer- 
emony to  the  purification  of  us  all  from  the  sin 
of  having  harbored  him,  and  let  us  never  name 
the  wretch's  name  again." 

But  before  this  last  expedient  was  resorted 
to,  Surjo  pleaded  for  a  further  delay  of  only  four 
days. 


DISGRACE   TO   THE   FAMILY.  151 

"O  uucle!  father!"  he  exclaimed,  "think  of  the 
disgrace  to  our  family  should  one  of  its  members 
embrace  Christianity.  Wait  till  you  wish  to  get 
Hemlota  a  husband ;  you  will  find  out  your  mis- 
take then;  no  one  will  marry  into  a  family 
tainted  with  this  Christian  pollution." 

"Alas!"  groaned  the  two  old  men,  "there  is  no 
shore  to  our  sea  of  misery ;  it  seems  to  widen 
every  moment.  None  but  you,  Surjo,  would  have 
thought  of  this;  but  it  is  too  true — too  true.  Do 
as  you  please  then  about  Prosonno,  that  is  to  say, 
if  you  can  satisfy  the  priests." 

"Oh,  leave  that  to  me,"  growled  Surjo;  "more 
money,  more  money,  that  will  do  it;  by  the  way, 
father,  this  whole  business  will  cost  us  many  a 
rupee ;  I  hope  you  are  prepared  for  that." 

"Be  it  so,"  rejoined  Mohendro,  "I  will  give  to 
my  last  pice  if  I  can  only  save  my  son.  Oh !  My 
son,  my  son !" 

Surjo's  character  was  one  that  is  fast  dying  out 
of  India.  "Young  Bengal"  represents  a  class  of 
men  of  loose,  free-thinking  ideas;  religion  is  the 
last  subject  that  ever  occupies  their  minds;  they 
will  tell  you  they  are  neither  Christians  nor  Hin- 
doos; that  they  have  adopted  the  good  out  of 


152  '  LIFE    BY    THE    GANGES. 

each  system,  which  means  pretty  much  that  at 
home  they  take  care  not  to  shock  the  prejudices 
of  their  families,  while  abroad  they  eat,  drink, 
and  enjoy  whatever  pleases  them,  without  the 
slightest  regard  to  caste,  rite,  or  ritual.  Their 
women  are  not  more  educated  than  those  of  the 
other  class;  they  are  just  as  far  from  the  kingdom 
of  God  as  their  stricter  brethren,  though,  they 
are  in  some  respects  less  hostile  to  those  who  em- 
brace Christianity  than  are  the  Hindoos  of  the  old 
school. 

Surjo  belonged  to  the  latter  class.  Not  only  a 
Brahmin  by  caste,  but  a  priest  by  profession,  he 
believed  implicitly  in  all  the  formulas  of  Hindoo- 
ism.  Shrewd  enough  in  matters  of  worldly  wis- 
dom, he  was  stupid,  almost  senseless,  as  regarded 
religion.  Hence,  that  his  brother  should  reject 
that  ancient  faith,  in  which  he  could  see  no 
absurdities,  seemed  to  him  horror  beyond  com- 
pare. The  loss  of  his  reason  was  nothing  to  him 
in  comparison  with  loss  of  caste;  and  death  itself 
was  preferable  to  life,  if  it  must  be  spent  in  apos- 
tacy  and  disgrace.  It  was  not  hatred  to  Pro- 
sonno  that  led  Surjo  to  adopt  the  severe  measures 
he  resorted  to;  far  from  it;  for,  did  he  not  risk 


THE    AGED    GRANDMOTHER.  153 

nis  own  safety  to  save  him  while  the  rest  of  the 
family  sat  bemoaning  at  home?  It  was  hatred  to 
Christianity;  it  was  dread  of  the  shame  that  must 
fall  upon  the  family  through  that  Christianity, 
which  impelled  him  to  act  as  he  did. 

The  grandmother  of  the  two  young  men,  on 
the  contrary,  though  still  a  Hindoo,  had  no  hatred 
to  Christianity.  Christianity  had  first  dawned 
upon  her  soul  in  beams  of  love.  She  looked  back 
through  the  vista  of  half  a  century  to  that  dread 
scene  on  the  sands  of  Saugor,  when  her  mother's 
heart  was  riven  to  its  very  core;  and  she  recalled 
to  mind  that  it  was  a  Christian  Government  that 
saved  her  darling;  that  it  was  Christian  love  that 
applied  that  relief  to  her  own  peculiar  case;  a 
Christian  had  spoken  a  few  calm,  holy  words 
which  had  comforted  her,  she  knew  not  how;  she 
had  kept  the  Book  of  the  Christians  carefully 
concealed  for  years;  it  had  brought  no  curse,  on 
the  contrary,  only  a  blessing.  Excepting  her 
husband,  who  was  a  very  old  man,  no  one  be- 
longing to  her  had  died;  her  sons  were  wealthy 
and  prosperous,  and  their  children  were  like  unto 
them ;  altogether  it  appeared  to  her  that  her  long 
happy  life  was  owing  in  some  sort  to  Christianity. 


164  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

When  the  rest  of  the  family  spoke  of  the  mis- 
sionary who  had  perverted  the  faith  of  Prosonno, 
and  loaded  him  with  every  species  of  abuse,  his 
grandmother  remembered  that  missionary  of  old 
who  had  told  her  that  the  Master  whom  he  served 
was  a  sea  of  love;  and  she  would  not  believe  that 
a  follower  of  the  same  Master  could  be  the  un- 
lovely and  hateful  character  which  her  friends 
represented.  Besides  this,  the  old  woman  was 
more  attached  to  Prosonno  than  to  any  of  her 
sons  or  grandsons ;  and  if  Christianity  made  Pro- 
sonno happy,  why  not  let  him  be  a  Christian? 

Again  she  watched  the  bigoted  elder  brother. 
He  grew  more  morose  and  irritable  each  day,  but 
never  mentioned  Prosonno,  just  as  if  it  were  no- 
thing to  him  what  he  chose  to  do  or  think.  What 
did  this  calm  portend  ?  The  old  lady  was  deter- 
mined to  find  out;  and  she  bribed  a  little  boy,  the 
son  of  their  milk-woman,  whom  Surjo  had  never 
seen,  to  follow  him  unperceived  in  one  of  his 
walks.  Surjo  passed  through  his  own  village, 
then  went  along  the  river  for  about  three  miles, 
until  he  arrived  at  a  lonely  hut,  far  from  all  habi- 
tations of  men.  The  only  door  to  this  miserable 
abode  (window  there  was  none)  was  on  the  north 


SURJO   VISITS   THE    OLD    WITCH.  155 

side,  so  that  the  genial  rays  of  the  sun  never 
shone  in.  For  the  space  of  fifty  yards  round  that 
hut,  there  was  no  sign  of  tree  or  green  thing  of 
any  kind,  as  though  its  unhallowed  air  had  killed 
all  that  was  fresh  and  beautiful.  Surjo  stood  at 
the  door  of  this  den,  and  called  to  some  one  by 
name.  He  was  answered  by  the  low  growl  of  a 
half-blind  cur  covered  with  sores.  There  was  no 
other  living  being  inside,  but  presently  a  hideous 
old  woman  presented  herself  with  some  noxious 
herbs  in  her  hands,  which  she  had  gathered  in 
the  jungles.  Her  countenance  was  truly  dreadful 
to  behold.  Every  trace  of  feminine  softness  had 
long  been  erased  from  those  harsh  features,  which, 
owing  to  unbridled  passions,  had  assumed  the  ap- 
pearance of  an  animal  rather  than  of  a  human 
being.  She  was  covered  with  a  single  piece  of 
filthy  rag,  and  her  matted  hair  seemed  as  if  it 
had  been  untouched  for  years. 

"You  here  again,  Baboo!"  she  growled;  "I 
thought  our  compact  was  that  you  should  never 
return.  Do  you  think  I  am  tired  of  life?  Do 
you  want  to  get  me  hanged,  or  what  ?" 

"  I  am  compelled  to  return,  mother ;  your  med- 


156  LIFE    BY  THE   GANGES. 

icine  failed.  You  must  give  me  a  stronger  potion 
this  time,"  said  Surjo. 

"  My  medicine  failed,  indeed  !  Your  brother 
no  more  drank  that  draught,  than  you  did  your- 
self, young  man,  if  at  this  moment  he  is  alive  and 
of  sane  mind." 

"Yes,  he  did  drink  it;  but  he  is  a  Christian. 
He  has  charms  against  everything  but  deadly 
poison ;  he  has  confessed  that  himself,"  whispered 
Surjo,  misinterpreting  Prosonno's  words  about 
their  being  able  to  kill  him,  while  they  would  be 
utterly  unable  to  change  his  mind. 

"  Hum  !  I  see  what  you  want  now,"  muttered 
the  hag ;  "  you  are  a  loving  brother,  I  must  say ; 
but  that  sort  of  thing,  good  sir,  is  not  brewed 
except  in  a  cup  of  silver,  ornamented  with  gold. 
Do  you  understand  ?" 

"Perfectly,"  replied  Surjo,  opening  a  bag  in 
which  there  appeared  at  least  thirty  or  forty  shi- 
ning coins ;  "  but  come  into  the  house ;  this  is  no 
place  to  discuss  such  matters :  there  may  be 
listeners." 

There  had  been  a  listener;  and  while  that 
murderous  brother  went  into  the  witch's  den  to 
accomplish  his  wicked  purpose,  the  spy  returned 


THE  GRANDMOTHER'S  DETERMINATION.     157 

to  her  who  had  sent  him,  and  told  her  all.  Pro- 
sonno's  grandmother  was  in  intense  distress  of 
mind.  Her  darling  must  not  die—  -that  she  had 
determined ;  but  to  prevent  it  seemed  beyond  her 
power,  shut  up  as  she  was  within  the  walls  of  the 
zenana.  Surjo  would  this  time  probably  admin- 
ister the  poison  himself,  and  then  nothing  could 
save  Prosonno ;  for  he  had  assured  her  he  had  no 
charms  against  poison  or  anything  else ;  and  she 
believed  him.  Besides,  she  desired  at  last  to  end 
his  persecutions,  and  send  him  back  safely  to  the 
missionary.  The  poor  lad  had  grown  thinner 
and  weaker  each  day,  and  she  was  fearful  that, 
even  without  the  aid  of  poison,  he  would  sink 
under  the  privations  he  had  to  endure.  It  may 
seem  strange  to  Christian  readers  that  this  loving- 
hearted  woman  had  not  the  moral  courage  to  open 
some  private  entrance,  and  thus  let  Prosonno  es- 
cape, or  perhaps  even  escape  with  him ;  but  every 
entrance  to  the  house  had  been  jealously  guarded 
by  Surjo,  who  kept  the  keys  in  his  pocket.  And 
apart  from  this,  English  readers  cannot  appreciate 
the  iron  strength  of  the  trammels  that  bind  a 
Hindoo  female  to  her  family  and  to  her  caste. 
For  a  man  to  abjuie  his  faith  is  sufficiently  haz- 


158  LIFE   BY   THE    GANGES. 

ardous,  as  we  have  already  seen ;  but  a  woman 
who  loses  her  caste,  loses  all  that  makes  life  valu- 
able to  her ;  her  good  name,  her  reputation,  her 
husband,  her  children,  and  the  very  means  of 
subsistence  itself. 

Like  the  English  lady,  she  is  unaccustomed  to 
menial  work,  but  unlike  her,  the  Hindoo  lady 
has  no  resources  whatever;  she  has  no  education 
to  enable  her  to  teach,  and  no  knowledge  of 
needle- work  or  the  fine  arts;  so  that  if  she  casts 
off  the  support  afforded  by  her  family,  she  must 
either  be  dependent  on  Christian  charity  or  starve. 
Prosonno's  grandmother  was  not  prepared  for 
such  a  sacrifice,  though  she  dared  more  in  his  be- 
half than  most  would  have  cared  to  do. 

After  well  digesting  her  plan  in  her  own  mind, 
she  applied  to  her  son  Mohendro  for  leave  to 
absent  herself  for  one  day,  on  the  plea  that  she 
wished  to  visit  some  distant  idol  shrine,  with 
offerings  to  entreat  that  a  new  mind  might  be 
given  to  the  apostate,  in  whom  they  were  all  so 
interested. 

"But  why  should  you  go,  mother?"  asked  Mo- 
heudro ;  '  it  is  not  seemly.  Tell  me  which  God 


THE    PRETENDED    DREAM.  159 

you  desire  to  propitiate,  and  I  will  carry  your 
offerings  and  perform  your  pooja  for  you." 

"No,  no,  my  son;  that  will  not  do,"  rejoined 
the  mother.  "I  have  had  a  dream  on  three  suc- 
cessive nights,  in  which  the  exact  spot  has  been 
revealed  to  me;  but  the  oracle  expressly  added 
that  it  must  be  kept  a  profound  secret,  and  that 
unless  the  person  at  whose  hands  Prosonno  first 
received  food  in  this  world  were  to  go,  and  go 
alone,  to  make  the  offerings,  they  would  be  of  no 
avail  whatever.  Now  I  am  that  person;  do  you 
not  remember  how  ill  the  boy's  mother  was  after 
his  birth,  and  how  constantly  I  fed  him  with 
goat's  milk  from  the  first  day  till  he  was  nearly 
two  months  old?" 

Mohendro  remembered  it  perfectly,  and  to  his 
mind  a  belief  in  superhuman  agency  seemed  natu- 
ral and  necessary.  His  mother  knew  well  that 
he  had  a  faith  in  dreams  that  no  philosophy  could 
ever  conquer.  Mohendro  made  some  slight  show 
of  resistance  to  his  mother's  request,  but  in  his 
heart  he  thought  that  as  she  was  an  old  woman, 
no  great  harm  could  come  of  her  leaving  the  ze- 
nana for  a  few  hours.  Besides,  owing  to  the  very 
naturj  of  her  errand,  she  must  keep  it  secret;  no 


160  LIFE   BY   TI1E   GANGES. 

disgrace,  therefore,  could  accrue  to  him,  and 
thinking  thus,  he  yielded. 

The  old  lady,  with  all  her  native  shrewdness, 
took  good  care  to  shroud  her  journey  with  such 
superstitious  terror  and  awe,  as  should  prevent 
any  of  the  family  i  blowing  her  in  private.  Her 
object  was  no  other  than  to  gain  the  abode  of  the 
same  miserable  hag  who  had  been  visited  by 
Surjo.  Following  the  directions  of  her  little 
spy,  the  courageous  woman  pursued  the  unaccus- 
tomed way,  till  she  entered  a  dark  wood.  Here 
she  heard  the  low  growl  of  the  hyena  in  the 
thicket,  but  her  heart  failed  not,  for  she  had  a 
purpose  to  accomplish.  At  a  sharp  turn  in  the 
wood,  she  suddenly  encountered  the  very  witch 
she  was  seeking.  She  had  never  seen  her,  but 
judging  from  the  description  of  the  boy,  she  felt 
she  could  not  be  mistaken.  There  surely  could 
not  be  two  such  hideous  creatures  in  the  world; 
so  she  determined  to  pay  the  wicked  woman  in 
her  own  coin,  which  was  to  work  upon  her  super- 
stitious fears,  and  thus  deceive  her  as  she  had 
deceived  others. 

"  I  knew  I  should  find  you  here,  daughter  of 
bell,"  she  exclaimed;  "so  you  thought  to  send 


THEIR   CONVERSATION.  161 

an  intoxicating  draught  to  a  Christian,  did  you? 
and  you  thought  to  make  him  mad?  Well,  he 
drank  the  draught:  to  him  it  became  the  most 
delicious  sherbet;  and  what  is  more,  it  opened  his 
eyes  to  see  you  preparing  another  draught  of  a 
more  deadly  nature.  You  were  gathering  the 
poisonous  Datura  for  that  very  purpose.  Confess 
that  you  were.  You  see,  I  know  it  all;  he  told 
me,  and  he  told  me  that  the  moment  Surjo  Baboo 
— I  know  the  name  of  your  employer  too,  you 
perceive — should  attempt  to  administer  that  poi- 
son to  him,  that  moment  it  would  be  changed 
into  death  for  you,  and  you  would  be  struck  dead 
wherever  you  might  be.  If  you  are  crossing  the 
river,  the  flood  will  drown  you;  if  you  are  in  the 
wood,  the  lightning  will  blast  you;  if  you  are 
asleep  in  your  den,  the  venomous  cobra  will  bite 
you." 

The  wicked  sorceress  trembled  from  head  to 
foot.  Prosonno's  grandmother  had  boldly  drawn 
her  bow  at  a  venture;  the  arrow  had  hit  home. 
All  that  she  had  said  the  witch  knew  was  true, 
ami  she  too  exclaimed  like  the  rest — "Then  these 
Christians  do  use  sorceries  and  enchantments,  and 
I  am  undone !" 
11 


162  LIFE    BY    THE    GANGES. 

"You  deserve  to  be  undone,  wretched  woman 
that  you  are!"  said  the  other,  "but  I  can  show 
you  a  way  of  escape.  When  does  Surjo  come  for 
your  charmed  potion?" 

"  To-morrow  night,"  muttered  the  hag,  humbled 
in  the  very  dust. 

"  Well,  can  you  not  change  that  deadly  Datura 
into  a  strong  sleeping  draught  ?  You  have  such 
things,  I  suppose?" 

"The  witch  of  the  Bamboo  grove  has  all 
things.  She  has  that  which  will  bring  life  to  yon 
little  bird  in  the  cruel  talons  of  that  hawk,  and 
she  has  that  which  will  bring  death  to  the  strong 
man.  But  what  use  will  a  sleeping  draught  be 
to  you?" 

"  Presume  not  to  ask  questions  of  one  whose 
fathers  were  magicians  before  you  were  born. 
Will  you  change  the  potion,  or  will  you  not? 
If  you  do,  you  save  your  life,  and  have  one  mur- 
der less  on  your  polluted  conscience." 

"But  I  lose  my  money,"  muttered  the  hag. 
"  Sordid  wretch !"  retorted  Prosonno's  grand- 
mother ;  "  how  much  did  Surjo  give  you  ?" 

"  I  have  received  forty  rupees,  and  he  has  pro- 
mised me  fortv  more  when  his  brother  is  dead." 


THE  GRANDMOTHER'S  PROPOSAL.        163 

"  How  much  do  you  suppose  this  necklace  is 
worth  ?"  asked  the  old  lady,  taking  a  string  of 
pearls  from  her  neck. 

"A  hundred  rupees,"  suggested  the  hag,  gree- 
dily eyeing  the  costly  trinket. 

"  It  cost  twice  that  sum ;  nevertheless  it  is 
yours  if  you  change  that  poison  ere  Surjo  conies 
for  it  to-morrow." 

"  I  will  change  it." 

"  Swear  by  the  head  of  your  mother." 

"  I  have  sworn." 

"  Well,  then,  listen.  I  want  it  to  be  such  a 
sleep  as  shall  wear  the  semblance  of  death." 

"  I  will  so  prepare  it." 

"  How  long  will  the  sleep  last  ?" 

"  Twelve  hours  at  least,  unless  any  great  exter- 
nal heat  be  applied  to  the  body." 

" Is  that  sure  to  waken  the  patient?" 

"  Perfectly  sure." 

"Good-bye,  then;  if  you  deceive  me  you  die. 
Remember !  On  the  river,  in  the  wood,  in  your 
den,  nowhere  shall  you  escape  me!" 

Prosonno's  grandmother  returned  home  in 
safety.  Her  son  Mohendro,  was  the  first  to  meet 
her. 


164  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

"Well,  mother,  what  said  the  oracle?"  he  in- 
quired with  eagerness. 

"  It  said,"  replied  the  shrewd  old  woman,  "  that 
at  twelve  o'clock  to-morrow  night  Prosonno's  sin 
will  be  atoned  for ;  you  and  his  mother  will  em- 
brace him  as  your  son ;  and  his  elder  brother  will 
carry  him  in  his  arms." 

"  Oh,  what  happiness !"  exclaimed  Mohendro ; 
"  the  gods  grant  it  may  be  so.  But  what  a  strange 
hour,  mother,  twelve  o'clock  at  night !  Surely  if 
Prosonno  consents,  we  shall  hold  the  feast  of 
atonement  in  the  day-time." 

"  Strange  or  not,  I  cannot  help  it.  I  have  told 
you  what  said  the  oracle.  I  do  not  pretend  to 
interpret  revelations,"  replied  the  old  lady.  On 
the  next  evening  she  gave  Prosonno  his  supper 
sooner  than  usual,  and  retired  to  her  room  early. 
As  she  expected,  about  nine  o'clock  she  heard 
Surjo  call  stealthily,  "  Thakur-ma,  Thakur-ma !" 
"What  is  it?"  UI  wish  you  would  go  to  my 
brother  and  see  if  he  is  well,  I  fear  he  is  not,  I 
heard  him  breathe  so  heavily  just  now :  he  does 
not  like  me;  so  I  will  not  go  in  to  annoy  him." 

"  Murder !"  thought  the  Thakurma ;  and  while 
she  went  she  trembled  lest  any  part  of  her  plan 


PROSONNO'S  APPARENT  DEATH.      165 

should  fail.  It  was  a  fearful  risk  to  run ;  but 
though  she  believed  now  that  he  carried  about 
with  him  no  charms,  at  least  no  charms  in  the 
common  acceptation  of  the  term,  yet  she  had  a 
vague  undefined  belief  that  the  same  God  who 
fifty  years  before  had  saved  her,  who  was  not  His 
worshipper,  from  being  the  murderer  of  her  own 
child,  could  now  deliver  one  of  his  most  devoted 
servants  from  a  dreadful  death.  Thus  she  tried 
to  quiet  her  fears  and  still  her  fluttering  heart. 

As  soon  as  she  entered  the  room,  she  saw  that 
the  opiate  had  done  its  work.  If  Prosonno  were 
not  really  dead,  the  likeness  to  death  was  perfect. 
He  was  stretched  out  cold  and  motionless  with 
glassy  half-open  eyes,  and,  so  far  from  breathing 
heavily,  there  seemed  to  be  no  breath  in  him. 
Had  the  witch  deceived  her?  She  could  not  tell; 
and  the  horror  of  this  suggestion  gave  a  reality 
to  her  cry  of  agony,  as  she  shrieked  out,  "  Is  my 
boy  ill  ?  Ah  !  no,  he  is  dead,  quite  dead ;  nothing 
wakens  him.  Alas,  my  boy  !" 

All  the  family  flocked  in,  and  we  must  do  them 
the  justice  to  say,  that  their  grief  was  most  real 
and  heart-felt.  His  mother  could  hardly  be  re- 
strained from  throwing  herself  on  the  corpse  and 


166  LIFE    B?    THE    GANGES. 

breaking  out  into  the  sharp,  plaintive  wail  that  is 
their  wont.  But  as  he  died  an  outcast,  this  was 
forcibly  prevented.  The  old  father's  silent  agony 
was  even  more  sad  to  behold.  Chondro  and  Xobo 
mourned  truly  as  they  looked  on  that  pale,  ema- 
ciated form  that  had,  till  the  last  few  weeks,  been 
their  companion  in  every  joy  and  sorrow;  and 
even.Surjo's  grief  was  not  all  dissimulation  when 
he  exclaimed,  "  Alas,  my  brother !" 

The  Brahmins  were  all  in  the  house,  and  the 
eldest  brother  eagerly  inquired  of  them  if  atone- 
ment might  be  made  for  the  dead  ?  They  an- 
swered, "Yes."  He  knew  that  before;  and  so 
they  immediately  set  about  the  purifications  and 
the  rites  connected  with  that  ceremony.  They 
shaved  his  head;  placed  beside  him  a  huge  heap 
of  cowrie  shells,  from  which  all  broken  and  im- 
perfect ones  had  been  carefully  excluded ;  sprinkled 
them  with  saffron,  and  then  offered  them  up  to 
the  god  Narayan. 

After  other  minor  ceremonies  had  taken  place, 
and  numerous  incantations  had  been  muttered,  the 
dead  body  was  pronounced  clean,  and  the  rel- 
atives hastened  to  take  a  last  look.  The  father 
and  mother  embraced  the  corpse  of  their  son, 


PROSONNO'S  APPARENT  DEATH.      lt)7 

shedding  over  it  bitter  tears.  The  sin  he  had 
committed,  the  grief  he  had  caused  them,  were 
all  forgotten ;  he  was  their  child  again,  their  most 
loved  child ;  they  saw  and  felt  nothing  beyond. 
Surjo  seemed  inexpressibly  pained  by  this  scene, 
and  determined  to  end  it  by  giving  the  signal  to 
the  bearers  to  lift  the  light  couch  on  which  Pro- 
sonno  was  laid.  He  did  so  by  taking  the  corpse 
up  in  his  arms,  and  adjusting  the  funeral  garments 
before  carrying  it  to  the  river-side  to  be  burned. 
Just  then  the  clock  struck  twelve.  Prosonno's 
parents  had  embraced  him  as  their  son,  his  elder 
brother  had  lifted  him  in  his  arms ;  the  oracle  had 
spoken  truly.  Mohendro's  eyes  met  those  of  his 
mother.  "It  is  even  so,  my  son,"  she  said. 
"  This,  then,  is  what  the  oracle  meant." 

"  Alas,  who  can  ward  oif  the  decrees  of  fate !" 
sighed  the  old  man,  while  they  carried  Prosonno's 
body  out  of  the  house,  amid  the  most  piercing 
shrieks  and  the  loudest  lamentations.  Arrived  at 
the  river-side,  they  placed  the  lower  extremities 
of  the  corpse  in  the  sacred  tide,  with  its  head 
resting  on  Surjo's  breast.  The  Brahmins  planted 
a  branch  of  the  tulsee  tree  beside  the  body,  and 
then  broke  out  into  spells  and  incantations.  This 


168  LIFE   BY    THE   GANGES. 

ceremony  was  in  reality  a  deception,  being  one 
used  for  a  dying,  not  a  dead  man ;  but  since  dying 
at  home  and  not  by  the  side  of  the  holy  Ganges, 
involved  a  serious  disgrace,  Surjo  was  anxious 
to  give  the  passer-by  the  impression  that  no  such 
disgrace  had  fallen  to  the  lot  of  his  family.  Be- 
sides, as  he  said,  they  could  not  be  quite  sure  but 
that  there  might  be  still  some  breath  left  in  him; 
and  was  it  not  best  to  let  his  erring  brother  have 
the  benefit  of  the  sin-destroying  water  of  the 
sacred  stream? 

Meanwhile  the  funeral  pile  was  prepared,  the 
wood  arranged,  new  clothes  were  brought,  and 
then  arraying  Prosonno  in  those  clothes,  Surjo 
prepared  to  lay  the  body  on  the  pile. 

But  the  time  for  the  deliverance  was  come. 
The  opiate,  administered  early  in  the  afternoon, 
had  done  its  work,  and  Prosonno's  life  was  fast 
struggling  into  new  activity.  The  motion  of 
the  bearers  over  rough  ground  and  in  deep  dark- 
ness; the  cool  air  of  the  early  morning;  the  shock 
of  the  water  on  his  feet  laid  in  the  stream ;  even 
the  cries,  and  shouts,  and  lamentations,  had  all 
tended  to  produce  a  change.  Prosonno  was  fast 
waking  from  his  lethargy;  and  when  Surjo  put 


PRuSONNO   IS   ALONE   AND    FREE.  169 

on  him  the  dry  clean  clothes,  his  consciousness 
rapidly  returned.  Before  Surjo  had  time  to  lift 
him  from  the  cot,  and  get  the  light  which  should 
kindle  the  pile,  Prosouno  started  to  his  feet,  and 
with  a  loud  cry  seized  him  by  the  throat.  Surjo 
had  all  along  been  in  an  excited  state:  even  his 
dead  conscience  had  begun  to  upbraid  him  for  his 
murderous  work;  and  now  that  clutch  on  his 
throat,  in  the  black  night,  by  one  whom  he  had 
murdered,  struck  him  with  peculiar  horror.  It 
seemed  as  if  his  own  hour  of  doom  had  come, 
and  as  though  he  was  already  fixed  to  that  wheel 
of  the  eternal  world,  whose  rotations  eternity 
alone  can  number. 

"Hell  opens  its  mouth  for  me.  Hell's  king 
holds  me  fast.  Oh !  let  me  go !"  shrieked  the  terri- 
fied man;  and  disengaging  himself  with  a  violent 
effort  from  his  brother's  grasp,  he  fled  from  the 
place,  a  raving  maniac.  There  was  great  confu- 
sion, and  then  the  rest  fled  after  him,  terrified 
likewise,  but  scarcely  knowing,  in  the  darkness, 
what  had  happened. 

Thus  Prosonno  found  himself  alone.  '  He  felt 
very  riuch  confused:  he  saw  spectre  forms  run- 
ning from  the  spot,  and  heard  those  terrific 


170  LIFE   BY  .THE   GANGES. 

shrieks;  but  the  river,  and  the  bank,  and  the  pile 
even  dimly  seen,  told  him  where  he  was.  Grad- 
ually his  shattered  nerves  gained  strength;  his 
eyes  took  in  the  scene  more  clearly;  and  he 
started  up  to  a  partial  consciousness  of  what  had 
brought  him  there.  He  thought  he  was  going  to 
be  burnt  alive;  that  the  grim  spectres  he  had  seen 
were  Surjo  and  the  rest,  who  had  disappeared  in 
the  wood ;  but  they  would  soon  be  back ;  or  per- 
haps they  had  been  pursued,  else  why  those  dis- 
mal shrieks? 

However  that  might  be,  escape  from  his  perse- 
cutors was  the  one  hope  that  now  filled  his  mind; 
and  he  saw  plainly  that  to  secure  his  liberty  he 
must  speedily  cross  the  river.  Only  a  few  miles 
away  on  the  other  bank  lived  a  native  missionary, 
whose  name  he  knew;  and  it  could  not  be  difficult 
to  reach  his  house  before  sunrise.  He  therefore 
pushed  his  way  along  the  bank;  and  growing 
stronger  by  the  effort,  at  length  ventured,  by 
wading  and  swimming,  to  cross  the  stream  at  one 
of  its  well-known  shallows.  Through  God's 
help  he  reached  the  bank  in  safety,  exhausted  but 
safe. 

How  can  \ve  describe  the  joy  of  his  heart  when 


HE  CROSSES  THE  RIVER  4.ND  ESCAPES.  171 

he  found  his  feet  once  more  upon  firm  ground ! 
A.  two  hours'  walk  would  bring  him  to  the  home 
of  the  missionary:  he  knew  that;  but  the  state  of 
ferment  in  which  his  thoughts  had  been  so  long 
kept,  demanded  a  brief  repose;  and  throwing 
himself  beneath  the  shelter  of  a  peepul  tree,  he 
continued  for  some  time  in  a  sort  of  vague,  wak- 
ing dream;  sometimes  passing  in  review  the 
scenes  of  that  night's  tragedy,  and  sometimes, 
with  his  eyes  fixed  in  drowsy  vacancy,  receiving 
passively  the  impressions  of  the  bright  scenery 
around. 

The  morning  was  now  in  its  first  freshness, 
and  the  day  was  breaking  over  the  waking 
earth.  The  banks  of  the  river  were  luxuri- 
antly wooded;  and  under  the  tufts  of  the  light 
and  towering  palm  were  seen  the  acacia  and  the 
citron  interlacing  their  boughs;  while  here  and 
there  a  rustling  peepul  tree  thickened  the  shade. 
The  gay  golden-winged  birds  that  haunt  those 
shores  were  in  every  direction  skimming  along 
the  water,  and  the  activity  of  the  morning  hour 
was  visible  everywhere.  Flights  of  doves  and 
lapwings  were  fluttering  among  the  leaves;  and 
the  white  paddy  bird,  which  had  been  roosting 


172  LIFE   BY   THE    GANGES. 

all  night  in  some  date  tree,  now  stood  sunning 
its  wings  on  the  green  bank,  or  floated  like  living 
silver  over  the  flood. »  The  flowers,  too,  both  of 
land  and  water,  looked  all  freshly  awakened;  and 
as  the  noble  young  man  gazed  and  gazed,  the 
flower  of  Hope  too  once  more  budded  in  his 
bosom.  He  was  too  happy  to  move  or  speak,  for 
he  had  tested  by  experience  the  truth  of  that 
glorious  promise,  "FEAR  NOT;  for  I  have  re- 
deemed thee,  I  have  called  thee  by  thy  name,  thou 
art  Mine.  When  thou  passest  through  the  waters, 
I  will  be  with  thee,  and  through  the  rivers  they 
shall  not  overflow  thee ;  when  thou  walkest  through 
the  fire,  thou  shalt  not  be  burned,  neither  shall 
the  flame  kindle  upon  thee.  FEAR  NCT,  for  I  am 
with  thee." 


CHAPTER   VI. 

Ql  ABBATH  evening  had  come  again.  It  was 
M  exactly  four  weeks  since  Prosonno  had  been 
carried  off  by  his  heathen  relatives  on  his  way  to 
the  place  of  baptism.  He  had  traversed  that  way 
safely  this  time,  and  now  he  stood  boldly  forward 
before  a  large  Christian  congregation  to  receive 
the  sacred  rite.  His  friend  Rdm  Doyal  had 
spoken  truth  when  he  said,  "  Let  us  do  what  the 
church  did  for  Peter,  pray  for  him  unceasingly ; 
and  he  will  be  delivered  safe  to  us  again,  for  he 
belongs  to  that  flock  of  whom  it  is  written  'not 
one  of  them  shall  perish.'" 

"What  think  you  of  Christ?"  was  the  first 
question  put  to  the  young  candidate,  who  stood 
there  waiting  to  receive  the  outward  and  visible 
sign  of  that  inward  and  spir'tual  grace  that  had 
already  been  bestowed  on  him. 

"  This  is  what  I  think,"  exclaimed  the  young 

173 


174  LIFE   BY  THE   GANGES. 

man,  his  whole  countenance  lighted  up  with  holy 
joy,  while  his  closely-shaven  head,  and  pale  ema- 
ciated form,  betokened  the  persecuted  sufferer  that 
he  had  been  ;  "  this  is  what  I  think.  It  is  said 
in  one  of  our  sacred  writings,  that  one  night  the 
full  moon  shone  out  in  all  her  splendor ;  the  stars 
were  dazzling  in  their  brilliancy,  and  every  moun- 
tain was  in  a  blaze;  the  three  combined  their 
strength  of  light  to  turn  the  night  into  day.  But 
all  was  in  vain ;  it  was  night  still,  until  the  SUN 
rose.  I  think  and  I  know  Christ  to  be  that  Sun. 
He  is  the  Sun  of  Righteousness.  Until  He  rose 
in  my  heart,  nothing  else  could  ever  dispel  the 
darkness  that  reigned  in  it;  but  He  has  arisen, 
and  now  the  blackness  and  the  mists  are  gone; 
and  I  can  see  clearly  that  heavenly  country,  which 
through  faith  in  Him  alone  shall  one  day  be  my 
glorious  inheritance." 

The  missionary  went  on :  "  You  said  that 
through  faith  in  Christ,  you  expect  salvation  or 
life  eternal  in  heaven,  how  so  ?" 

"Because  Jesus  Christ  is  God,  and  was  once, 
nearly  nineteen  hundred  years  ago,  incarnate  as 
man.  In  that  form  he  obeyed  the  righteous  law 
of  God,  and  finally  suffered  as  a  sinner,  though 


ANSWERS   AT   HIS   BAPTISM.  175 

he  was  Himself  no  sinner;  but  suffered  for  us, 
not  for  Himself.  This  substitution  God  has  ac- 
cepted, and  I  humbly  accept  it  too.  I  place  faith 
in  the  sacrifice  that  has  been  offered  ;  thus,  having 
had  my  transgressions  blotted  out,  I  hope  for  the 
promise  of  life  eternal." 

"  Could  you  not  in  any  way  have  saved  your- 
self?" 

"  No ;  since  the  fall  of  our  first  parents,  man's 
nature  has  become  so  corrupt,  and  his  works, 
thoughts,  and  words  are  so  utterly  evil,  that  I 
feel  that  I  could  not,  by  any  endeavor  of  my  own, 
have  freed  myself  from  the  sin  of  my  nature,  or 
have  kept  the  law  of  God." 

"  Did  Hindooism,  the  religion  you  are  quitting, 
speak  to  you  of  no  atonement  for  sin,  or  way  of 
pardon  for  the  transgressor  ?" 

"  Hindooism  is  a  religion  of  impurity,  lies,  and 
imposture.  The  only  atonement  it  teaches  is  per- 
formed by  puerile,  outward  acts,  which  cannot  by 
any  means  satisfy  God's  offended  law." 

"  In  professing  yourself  a  Christian,  as  you  are 
now  about  to  do,  by  what  rule  do  you  intend  to 
regulate  your  lifo  ?" 

For  the   first   time   Prosonno  hesitated.     He 


176  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

looked  back  on  the  painful  history  of  the  last  few 
weeks,  and  asked  himself  by  what  rule  he  had 
regulated  his  actions.  He  could  not  tell.  There 
was  no  parallel  case  to  his  in  the  Bible ;  or  if  there 
was,  he  was  not  sufficiently  acquainted  with  the 
Bible  to  know.  Then  why  not  have  listened  to 
his  father's  entreaties,  and  yielded  to  his  mother's 
tears  ?  Why  ?  Because  he  could  not ;  he  loved 
Christ.  But  this  was  no  answer  to  make  before 
such  an  assembly ;  the  minister  had  asked  for  his 
rule  of  life;  what  should  he  say?  The  poor 
young  man  became  nervous,  confused,  all  but  un- 
able to  speak ;  at  length  he  stammered  out : — 

"I  do  not  know  the  rules  yet;  but  I  love 
Christ  with  all  my  heart,  and  strength,  and  mind. 
Oh,  do  not  say  that  I  may  not  be  baptized  to- 
night. I  have  waited  so  long,  I  shall  learn  the 
rules  hereafter." 

"There  are  no  more  rules  to  learn,  Prosonno, 
after  you  have  learned  the  grand  rule  of  love. 
Hold  that  fast,  and  you  wall  endure  to  the  end." 
Then  followed  the  baptism.  The  Hindoos  fool- 
ishly believe  this  rite  to  consist  in  a  charm  being 
whispered  in  the  ear,  and  a  small  quantity  of 
beef  and  wine  being  put  into  the  mouth  of  the 


HE   IS   BAPTIZED.  177 

candidate.  How  different  was  the  holy  ceremony 
by  which  the  young  soldier  was  duly  sworn 
"with  true  and  fearless  mind  to  serve  the  Virgin- 
born." 

He  stepped  forward,  took  off  the  Brahminical 
thread,  and  laying  it  on  the  table  he  received  a 
Bible  instead,  in  token  that  he  renounced  Brahm- 
inism,  with  all  its  honors  and  social  privileges, 
and  chose  rather  to  become  a  follower  of  the 
meek  and  lowly  Nazarene.  A  few  calm  words 
of  faith  and  prayer  were  said,  and  then  he  was 
imprest  with  the  sign  and  seal  which  Christ  him- 
self appointed — baptism  with  water.  By  faith 
he  recognized  that  water  baptism  as  a  token  be- 
fore men  that  he  had  put  on  Christ;  and  an 
emblem  of  his  soul's  being  washed  in  that  blood 
which  cleanseth  from  all  sift. 

When  Prosonno  returned  home  with  the  mis- 
sionary, he  was  introduced  to  his  new  abode.  It 
consisted  of  one  room  in  a  long  barrack-like 
building,  where  he  found  eight  or  nine  young 
men  similarly  situated  with  himself.  Most  mis- 
sionary stations  near  Calcutta  have  such  buildings, 
in  which  to  accommodate  their  young  converts 

while  they  lead   a   student's  life,  and  till  they 
12 


178  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

obtain  employment.  Prosonno  had  expressed  a 
strong  desire  to  study  for  the  ministry.  His 
natural  qualifications,  his  piety,  and  the  knovv- 
ledge-of  all  he  had  suffered  for  Christ,  rendered 
this  wish  highly  gratifying  to  his  Christian 
friends;  he  was  accordingly  installed  in  the  above- 
named  barrack,  and  admitted  into  the  Missionary 
Institution  of  that  place  as  a  theological  student. 
Here  he  enjoyed  the  pleasures  of  Christian  soci- 
ety, the  benefit  of  religious  instruction,  and  above 
all,  the  peace  that  comes  with  the  consciousness 
that  self  has  been  sacrificed  and  duty  has  been 
done. 

But  that  it  was  a  life  of  privation  to  Prosonno, 
it  would  be  useless  to  deny.  To  take  only  the 
matter  of  pecuniary  means.  During  the  whole 
time  that  he  attended  the  classes  at  the  Presidency 
College  of  Calcutta,  his  mother  was  accustomed 
daily  to  tie  a  half  rupee  *  in  the  corner  of  his 
chudder  or  mantle,  which  money  he  daily  spent 
on  his  lunch,  the  only  meal  he  partook  of  away 
from  home.  Now,  a  half  rupee  a  day  was  the 
entire  sum  the  missionaries  could  afford  him  from 
the  public  funds  intrusted  to  their  care;  breakfast, 

*  The  Rupee  is  about  equal  to  a  silver  half  dollar 


HIS  TROUBLES  ABOUT  FOOD.       179 

,  clothes — all  had  to  come  out  of  that  little 
sum.  As  for  lunch;  he  learned  to  do  without 
that  luxury  altogether.  Then,  again,  his  food 
was  no  longer  prepared  by  the  skillful  and- loving 
hands  of  a  mother  or  a  wife,  with  all  the  condi- 
ments and  spices,  a  judicious  use  of  which  is  the 
pride  of  Hindoo  ladies.  It  was  cooked  by  a 
poor  Christian  widow,  who  acted  as  servant  to  all 
the  Baboos  who  were  living  in  the  barrack. 
They,  from  a  longer  residence  among  Europeans, 
had  become  accustomed  to  have  their  food  sea- 
soned with  onions,  to  eat  fowl,  and  some  of  them 
even  went  so  far  as  to  take  other  meats  occasion- 
ally. Now,  to  Prosonno  these  things  were  abhor- 
rent in  the  extreme.  It  was  as  though  an  English- 
man had  been  asked  to  eat  the  flesh  of  the  horse, 
or  things  vastly  more  repulsive.  For  many  months 
all  enjoyment  of  his  food  was  at  an  end.  He 
dined  from  duty  and  necessity,  rather  than  from 
any  sense  of  gratification  to  the  palate. 

But  there  was  another  trial,  in  comparison  with 
which,  what  has  already  been  noted  faded  into  very 
nothingness.  This  was  "the  shadow  of  his  de- 
parted home,"  the  home  he  had  known  before  the 
pain  of  reserve  had  come  between  him  and  the 


180  LIFE   BY  THE   GANGES. 

hearts  of  those  he  loved  best  on  earth.  For, 
strangely  enough,  at  the  twilight  hour,  the  harsh- 
ness and  unkindness  of  the  last  few  weeks  would 
be  all  forgotten,  and  then  Prosonno  would  catch 
himself  listening  for  the  tones  of  each  household 
voice.  His  Christian  friends  were  most  kind, 
but  they  and  their  ways  were  strange  to  him,  and 
he  felt  at  times  a  yearning  anguish  to  behold  his 
own  again.  Christian  families  lived  around  him 
happy  and  prosperous.  Some  young  men,  who 
like  himself  had  come  out  of  heathenism,  had 
since  been  joined  by  their  wives.  Others  had 
married  women  from  the  Christian  community 
that  was  fast  increasing  at  the  missionary  station. 
To  such,  the  palm's  low  rustling  leaves  seemed  as 
glad  music,  intermingling  with  their  wives'  sweet 
voices,  and  their  children's  laughing  play;  but  to 
poor  Prosonno  it  brought  other  thoughts.  His 
eye  grew  dim,  while  he  tremblingly  recalled  the 
bitter  hatred  which  Kaminee  had  evinced  to  the 
religion  he  had  embraced.  Beautiful,  loved,  and 
loving  as  she  was,  he  feared  that  his  wife  would 
never  be  his  own  again.  No  laughing  children 
would  wile  away  the  hours  for  him.  He  would 
never,  at  the  morning  hour  or  at  the  sunset's 


CHRISTIANITY   ELEVATES   WOMEN.  181 

light,  hear  again  his  mother's  voice;  there  was  no 
more  a  father's  blessing  for  him,  or  a  brother's 
love,  or  a  sister's  endearments;  these  were  the 
thoughts  that  filled  his  spirit,  and  no  wonder 

"  If  they  waked  a  wish 
To  turn  aside  and  weep." 

But  he  was  not  always  thus  sad.  In  a  few 
weeks  Prosonno  became  more  accustomed  to  his 
new  mode  of  life,  and  then  he  began  to  see  how 
superior  was  the  conduct  that  was  regulated  by 
Christian  principles,  to  that  which  had  Hiudooism 
only  for  its  guide.  One  thing  particularly  struck 
him,  that  it  was  by  raising  the  standard  of  female 
character  that  Christians  had  chiefly  improved 
the  ground-work  of  their  society.  The  native 
converts  who  had  embraced  Christianity  a  few 
years  before  had  already  educated  their  wives,  as 
far  as  they  were  able,  and  already  the  happy 
fruits  of  this  training  began  to  appear  in  all  the 
domestic  arrangements,  which  so  deeply  affect  the 
interests  of  man.  Their  wives,  though  they  still 
retained  much  of  their  native  shyness  and  reserve, 
and  continued,  as  was  their  custom,  to  perform  all 
ihose  household  duties  for  their  husbands  which 
are  the  proper  sphere  of  a  woman  in  every  land, 


182  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

were  treated  by  those  husbands  in  a  manner  very 
different  from  that  to  which  they  had  been  accus- 
tomed in  their  Hindoo  homes.  The  men  now 
felt  that  their  wives  were  no  longer  ignorant  and 
uneducated,  and  consequently  treated  them  with 
respect.  Formerly  they  had  no  religious  princi- 
ples to  guide  them ;  now  many  of  them  were 
under  the  teaching  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  there- 
fore were  not  suspected.  They  sat  down  to  meals 
together;  and  if  a  male  friend  came  in,  it  was  no 
longer  incumbent  on  the  wife  to  run  and  hide 
herself. 

But  it  was  not  until  Prosonno  came  in  contact 
with  English  ladies,  and  was  admitted  into  the 
inner  recesses  of  an  English  household,  that  he 
learned  how  full  and  unsuspecting  was  the  trust 
reposed  in  woman,  and  how  richly  she  deserved 
such  confidence.  About  a  fortnight  had  elapsed 
after  his  baptism,  when  Prosonno  was  asked  one 
evening  to  go  and  drink  tea  with  the  missionary. 
His  new  clothes  had  come  home  that  day,  so  he 
thought  it  a  fitting  occasion  to  put  them  on,  for 
he  knew  he  would  be  in  the  society  of  a  lady. 
These  clothes  were  not  made  in  the  European 
fashion,  as  is  supposed  by  most  Hindoos,  but  con- 


PROSONNO'S   NEW    CLOTHES.  183 

sisted  of  a  tight-fitting  long  coat  (termed  chap- 
khan),  and  trowsers,  such  as  are  worn  already  in 
the  country  by  Mohammedan  gentlemen.  As 
Prosonno  put  off  his  two  thin  muslin  wrappers, 
which,  till  now,  had  constituted  his  sole  dress, 
and  put  on  the  new  clothes,  made  of  thick  close 
calico,  he  could  not  but  be  struck,  even  in  this 
trifling  circumstance,  with  the  strength  that 
female  influence  exerted  the  moment  a  man  came 
under  its  power;  and  his  thoughts  assumed  a 
shape  like  this — "If  we,  Hindoo  men,  were 
accustomed  to  meet  our  ladies  in  society,  we 
should  soon  be  compelled  to  do  away  with  our 
effeminate  muslins,  and  adopt  a  decent  costume 
like  this.  While  they,  on  the  other  hand,  if  they 
associated  with  us,  would,  as  an  immediate  conse- 
quence, make  a  change  most  desirable,  in  the 
single  garment  they  now  wear."  And  Prosonno's 
thoughts  were  true  and  just.  The  missionary 
and  his  wife  had  intended  to  be  alone,  on  this 
first  evening  of  entertaining  their  young  convert; 
but,  as  it  happened,  two  gentlemen  dropped  in 
unasked,  and  the  missionary  was  obliged  to  enter 
into  conversation  with  them,  so  that  Prosonno 
talked  chiefly  with  the  lady. 


184  LIFE   BY   THE   3ANGES. 

The  husband  and  wife  both  met  him  on  the 
stairs,  and  led  him  into  the  room  that  he  might 
feel  himself  perfectly  at  home.  This  was  not 
easy,  the  scene  was  so  new  and  strange  to  him. 
He  was  ushered  into  a  neat,  brightly-lighted 
apartment.  At  the  table  in  the  middle  of  the 
room  were  seated  the  two  gentlemen  already 
named.  Prosonno  was  motioned  into  a  chair, 
and  then  the  host  and  hostess  also  took  their 
seats,  making  a  snug,  cosy  party  round  the  tea- 
table.  This  evening  meal  of  tea  among  the 
English  strikes  the  Hindoo  as  a  new  and  strange 
thing.  They  have  nothing  like  it  among  them- 
selves. Their  meals  are  never  social ;  they  usually 
eat  separately;  each  wife,  not  sitting  beside  her 
husband,  but  standing  behind  him  to  serve  him; 
the  business  of  the  hour  is  to  eat,  and  they  do 
nothing  else. 

The  conversation  flowed  freely,  and  gave  rise 
to  an  animated  discussion,  on  how  far  the  na- 
tural features  of  a  country  are  capable  of  influ- 
encing the  moral  and  intellectual  nature  of  its 
inhabitants.  It  seemed  to  Prosonno  that  the  lady 
was  inclined  to  give  undue  prominence  to  such 
an  influence;  while  the  man  of  science  repudiated 


INFLUENCE  OF  DOMICILE  UPON  CHARACTER.  185 

the  notion  altogether,  maintaining  that  it  was  en- 
tirely a  matter  of  race,  and  that  a  Bengalee  reared 
amid  the  eternal  snows  of  the  Alps,  would  remain 
a  Bengalee  still.  They  could  not  settle  it,  so 
they  turned  to  other  subjects.  From  the  natural 
features  of  Swiss  scenery,  to  the  politics  of  Italy, 
was  an  easy  transition,  and  the  host  and  his 
European  guests  began  to  discuss  them  with 
much  warmth;  while  the  missionary's  wife,  who 
knew  that  Prosonno  could  not  have  seen  an 
English  newspaper  while  he  was  in  confinement, 
and  would  probably,  therefore,  be  little  acquainted 
with  the  matter,  took  him  on  one  side,  to  draw 
him  out  on  the  manners  and  customs  of  his  own 
people.  This  was  a  subject  which  it  was  her 
great  desire  to  sift  to  the  very  bottom;  for  she 
knew  well,  that  without  an  intimate  knowledge 
of  the  people  among  whom  one  labors,  there  is 
but  small  chance  of  doing  them  good. 

Leaving  her  husband  to  entertain  his  guests, 
his  lady  asked  Prosouno  what  most  forcibly 
struck  him  among  Christians  as  new  and  strange. 
He  replied,  as  all  new  converts  would  be  sure  to 
do:— 

"The  ladies,  madam,  most  decidedly." 


186  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

"An  equivocal  compliment,  at  best!"  returned 
the  lady,  laughing.  "Well,  and  what  is  your 
verdict  on  these  new  and  strange  articles  ?" 

"To  tell  you  the  truth,  madam,  they  puzzle  me. 
Our  ladies  are  not  wanting  in  beauty  and  sweet- 
ness, and  even  in  intelligence;  and  yet  they  are  as 
different  from  English  women,  as  is  the  jungly 
marigold  from  the  garden  rose." 

"And  surely  the  difference  in  both  cases  arises 
from  the  same  cause,  Baboo — namely,  the  want 
of  culture.  Now  tell  me,  what  are  the  surround- 
ings of  your  women  while  they  are  yet  children? 
Is  there  aught  in  their  early  education  to  lead 
their  minds  to  what  is  true  and  elevated?" 

"Alas,  no!"  replied  Prosonno.  "A  little  girl 
among  us  is  supposed  to  have  no  religion  at  all. 
Religion  is  not  thought  to  be  a  child's  matter. 
The  first  text,  or  montro,  is  ^whispered  into  her  ear 
when  she  is  about  fourteen.  Till  then  she  is 
allowed  to  grow  up  in  utter  ignorance  of  the  na- 
ture of  a  prayer;  that  is,  at  least,  if  we  except 
one  trifling  religious  ceremony,  which  has  more 
evil  in  it  than  good." 

"And  what  is  that?"  asked  the  lady. 

"I  hardly  like  to  tell    you,  madam;  it  is  so 


TRAINING   OF   A   HINDOO    GIRL.  187 

utterly  foolish;  and  yet,  as  you  say,  this  want  of 
•training  and  evil  training  combined,  account  for 
so  much  that  is  wrong  in  Hindoo  females,  that 
perhaps  it  is  but  fair  that  they  should  get  the 
benefit  of  the  excuse.  The  ceremony  is  this:  The 
little  girl  is  taught  to  dig  a  tiny  toy-pond  in  the 
garden,  to  stick  a  branch  of  the  Bel  tree  in  the 
middle,  and  then  to  worship  the  goddess  Lilabotee 
in  words  something  like  these : — 

"'At  holy  tank  with  holy  flower, 
Who  comes  to  pray  this  mid-day  hour? 
'Tis  I !     0  Lilabotee,  hear ! 
And  save  thy  child  the  burning  tear, 
Which  e'en  must  fall,  should  one>  be  brought 
To  share  my  lord's  love.     Curse  the  thought! 
And  curse  all  co- wives !     One  more  boon, 
Make  me  a  joyful  mother  soon.' " 

"And  do  you  mean  to  say,"  asked  the  lady, 
"  that  that  is  all  the  religion  a  girl  is  ever  taught? 
Surely  it  cannot  be !" 

"Yes  indeed,  madam,  I  am  ashamed  to  say 
that  is  all.  I  suppose  the  training  of  a  little  girl 
in  England  is  something  very  different." 

"Different!  Yes,"  said  the  wife  of  the  mis- 
sionary, while  her  eyes  filled  with  tears  at  the 
remembrance  of  her  childhood's  home,  and  of  the 


188  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

father  and  mother  she  was  never  more  to  see :  for 
it  was  at  once  her  joy  and  her  sorrow  to  be  the 
"child  of  parents  passed  into  the  skies."  Pro- 
sonno  saw  her  emotion,  and  rightly  judged  that, 
now  that  her  mind  had  travelled  back  to  those 
days,  she  would  be  pleased  to  dwell  on  them. 
Besides,  he  really  wished  to  learn  the  early  history 
of  an  English  woman ;  so  he  further  inquired, 
"How  is  it  different,  madam?  How  are  female 
children  educated  among  you  ?" 

"Well,  Baboo,"  replied  the  lady,  looking  quite 
interested  now,  "I  have  had  little  to  do  with  the 
education  of  English  children,  having  none  of 
my  own,  as  you  know :  and  since  my  arrival  in 
India,  it  has  been  nothing  but  Bengalee  schools 
and  Zenana  teaching,  Zenana  teaching  and  Ben- 
galee schools.  But  I  will  tell  you  about  my  own 
childhood,  if  you  like.  My  first  recollections 
stretch  back  to  the  time  when  I  was  four  years  of 
age ;  and  almost  the  first  thing  I  can  recall  is  go- 
ing on  a  party  of  pleasure,  with  a  great  many 
ladies  and  gentlemen,  to  walk  through  a  beautiful 
park.  In  vain  did  I  try  with  my  little  feet  to 
keep  up  with  the  rest;  I  was  always  falling  back. 
At  one  time  my  shoes  would  be  full  of  stones;  at 


EARLY   TRAINING   OF   AN   ENGLISH   GIRL.     189 

another  my  progress  would  be  impeded  by  my 
tiny  frock  catching  in  the  rose  bushes;  till  a  min- 
ister in  the  party  (our  Gooroo,*  Baboo,  you  under- 
stand), came  to  me  and  said,  'You  cannot  walk 
with  the  others,  my  child :  I  see  that  plainly ; 
come  with  me  across  the  soft  grass ;  we  will  reach 
the  place  where  we  are  going  to  dine,  as  quickly 
as  they  will,  though  you  take  ever  such  tiny  steps/ 

"And  then  he  took  me  by  the  hand  and  led  me 
on,  he  and  I  alone.  Baby  as  I  was,  I  knew  it 
was  an  act  of  self-denial ;  so  I  looked  up  in  his 
face,  and  said,  'Why  do  you  come  with  me,  when 
you  were  talking  so  nicely  to  papa ;  I  am  sure  you 
are  sorry  to  come/ 

"He  answered,  'No,  not  at  all  sorry,  my  little 
girl ;  I  am  very  glad ;  and  you  too  will  learn,  as 
you  grow  older,  that  there  is  no  happiness  like 
that  which  comes  from  trying  to  help  others.' 
This  lesson  was  the  first  I  remember  from  a 
Gooroo,  and  I  never  forgot  it." 

"  Happy  the  child  who  has  such  recollections 
of  a  Gooroo !"  exclaimed  Prosonno.  "  With  us  the 
advent  of  a  Gooroo  is  too  often  the  sign  for  the 
father  to  frown ;  for  the  little  children  to  run  and 

*  Goc  jo,  religious  teacher. 


190  LIFE   BY  THE   GANGES. 

hide  themselves ;  and  for  the  mother  to  look  anx- 
ious and  fidgety  ;  for  well  she  knows  that  the 
teacher  has  come  only  for  money  and  presents; 
and  that,  whether  she  has  them  or  not,  they  must 
be  forthcoming,  nevertheless  But  will  you  kindly 
proceed  ?" 

"  I  was  about  to  tell  you,"  said  the  lady,  "  that 
I  was  born  in  England,  where  females  are  more 
independent  than  even  our  own  country-women 
are  in  this  land.  Here  the  warm  climate  keeps 
us  prisoners ;  and  I  fancy  we  have  also  unknow- 
ingly '  -ibibed  some  of  our  neighbor's  false  notions 
about  female  delicacy  and  female  reserve.  But 
there,  as  the  little  song  has  it,  'Birds  are  free,  so 
are  we;  and  we  live  as  happily.'  Though  we 
lived  in  the  great  city  of  London,  with  its  thronged 
squares  and  public  thoroughfares,  you  might  have 
seen  my  mother,  who  was  a  very  beautiful  woman, 
each  Sabbath  morning  leading  my  sister  and  my- 
self by  the  hand  to  our  place  of  worship,  through 
the  most  crowded  streets ;  while  no  person  dared 
to  address  us  or  molest  us  in  any  way." 

"And  then  the  teachings  we  received  in  that 
place  of  worship,  how  pure  and  holy  they  were ! 
And  the  prayers  we  heard,  how  different  from  the 


ENGLISH   AND   HINDOO   GIRLS    CONTRASTED.  191 

one  you  have  told  me !  Instead  of  heaping  curses 
on  our  fellow-creatures,  we  were  taught  to  embrace 
all  in  the  arms  of  love.  And  as  for  praying  that 
we  might  become  mothers!  I  don't  think  that 
sort  of  thing  ever  enters  the  head  of  English 
children.  The  love  of  their  parents,  together 
with  their  books,  and  work,  and  play,  fills  all 
their  thoughts  and  bounds  all  their  wishes." 

"  And  the  poor  little  Bengalee  child,"  exclaimed 
Prosonno,  "has  her  mind  filled  with  notions  of 
marriage  and  nonsense  like  that  from  her  very 
infancy,  and  that  by  her  own  mother!  It  was 
but  yesterday  I  heard  the  Catechist's  wife  teach- 
ing her  infant  of  a  year  old  to  imitate  the  sounds 
made  by  animals ;  that  was  well ;  but  a  Hindoo 
mother  would  have  said  instead,  'Baby,  show  me 
how  you  will  cry  when  your  husband  comes  to 
take  you  home;'  or  'Baby,  show  me  the  little  ears 
in  which  you  will  put  the  rings  your  husband 
will  give  you ;'  and  Baby  goes  through  the  panto- 
mime, while  her  mind  expands  into  unhealthy 
womanhood,  before  she  can  barely  be  called  a 
child!  Oh  it  is  sad,  very  sad!" 

"Yes,  English  mothers  would  never  talk  in 
that  way,"  said  the  lady ;  "but  then  you  see  they 


192  LIFE   BY  THE   GANGES. 

are  educated,  and  have  something  else  to  talk 
about;  whereas  a  Hindoo  mother  has  nothing. 
We  must  always  remember  that  ere  we  condemn 
them.  Now  I  learnt  almost  all  I  know  from  my 
mother ;  for  I  was  not  sent  to  school,  except  for 
two  years,  and  that  was  when  she  and  my  father 
had  to  go  over  to  America." 

"  But  how  is  it  that  English  ladies  get  time  to 
educate  their  children ?"  asked  Prosonno.  "Do 
they,  then,  do  no  household  work  at  all  ?" 

"Oh!  yes,  they  do  a  great  deal,"  replied  the 
missionary's  wife,  "excepting  ladies  in  the  very 
highest  classes.  But  there  are  sixteen  waking 
hours  in  the  day,  and  it  is  astonishing  how  much 
may  be  accomplished  in  them,  if  judiciously  laid 
out." 

Prosonno  listened,  deeply  interested,  whilst  the 
daily  life  of  a  Christian  woman  in  England  was 
detailed,  in  its  freedom,  industry  and  activity,  but 
he  heaved  a  sad  sigh.  Oh,  how  different  had  been 
that  description  from  the  history  of  a  day  in  the 
very  best  of  Hindoo  homes,  as  was  his  own ! 
There,  if  he  excepted  his  own  studies  and  those 
of  his  brother  Nobo,  no  work  whatever  was  done 
but  what  related  to  the  preparation  of  food,  or  to 


MARRIAGE   AMONG   THE    ENGLISH.  193 

the  still  greater  trivialities  of  their  religion.  In- 
deed, the  number  of  people  living  together  in  a 
Hindoo  house,  sometimes  as  many  as  thirty  or 
forty,  seemed  to  preclude  life  from  being  made  a 
serious  and  earnest  thing ;  so  much  of  it  was  ne- 
cessarily spent  in  idle  talk  or  gossip.  And  yet 
Prosonno  was  not  prepared  to  give  up  a  certain 
liking  for  the  fashions  in  which  he  was  brought 
up.  To  bis  mind  the  plan  of  living  in  a  house 
with  only  one's  wife  and  children,  seemed  dull 
work ;  so  he  asked  the  lady,  whether  it  were  al- 
ways as  she  had  described. 

"Nearly  always,"  she  replied.  "A  man  does 
not  marry  until  he  is  able  to  maintain  a  separate 
establishment  for  his  family,  and  as  his  wife  is 
not  a  child,  but  at  least  twenty  years  of  age  when 
she  marries,  she  does  not  need  the  care  of  a 
mother-in-law,  and  is  perhaps  better  without  her." 

"But  is  it  right  to  leave  parents  in  their  old 
agre  to  live  all  by  themselves,  while  each  son  cares 

•/  / 

only  for  himself  and  his  wife?"  inquired  Pro- 
sonno. 

"Well,  perhaps  not,"  said  the  lady;  "but  such 
a  case  seldom  occurs.  Often  there  will  be  one  of 
the  daughters  who  remains  unmarried,  and  she 

13 


194  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

will  continue  to  live  with  her  parents,  and  take 
care  of  them.  Or  when  a  mother  is  a  widow,  she 
often  lives  with  her  son." 

"  There  is  one  thing,  ma'am,"  exclaimed  Pro- 
sonno,  "that  I  cannot  quite  understand.  Do  you 
mean  to  say  that  there  are  young  ladies  in  Eng- 
land who  never  marry  at  all?" 

"Numbers  of  them,"  replied  the  wife  of  the 
missionary. 

"Well,  then,  surely  that  is  not  as  it  should  be?'* 
asked  the  young  man. 

"  I  do  not  pretend  to  say  that  it  is,"  replied  the 
lady ;  "  at  the  same  time  it  cannot  be  helped.  In 
England,  where  no  man  is  allowed  more  than  one 
wife,  and  where  the  emigration  of  the  male  part 
of  the  community  is  of  such  frequent  occurrence, 
there  are  really  not  husbands  enough  for  the  wo- 
men." 

"  That  seems  very  strange  to  us,"  returned  Pro- 
son  no  ;  "  I  wonder  what  my  good  mother  would 
say  to  facts  like  these.  She  would  think  I  had 
got  among  an  extraordinary  people  indeed.  But 
it  is  one  of  the  advantages  of  mixing  with  men 
of  other  nations  and  other  habits,  that  we  learn 
that  our  notions  do  not  rule  the  entire  world,  and 


CUSTOMS  OF  VARIOUS  NATIONS.     195 

more  than  that,  that  our  own  notions  are  not  al- 
ways the  best." 

"  Exactly  so,"  said  the  lady ;  "  and  besides  this, 
an  intimate  acquaintance  with  foreigners  often 
tends  to  correct  harsh  and  erroneous  views  we 
may  have  formed  of  them.  I,  for  instance,  before 
I  visited  in  the  houses  of  Hindoo  families,  used 
to  think  that,  living  as  they  do,  there  would  be 
nothing  but  quarrelling  among  their  inmates 
from  morning  till  night.  But  I  did  not  find  it 
was  so.  Even  the  wives  of  the  same  husband,  in 
spite  of  all  the  curses  you  say  they  heap  on  each 
other,  seem  happy  on  the  whole." 

"Oh,  they  have  dreadful  quarrels,  sometimes!" 
returned  Prosonno;  "but  on  the  whole,  as  you 
say,  they  are  happier  far  than  your  ladies  would 
be  under  the  same  circumstances,  I  fancy." 

Here  the  conversation  was  interrupted  by  the 
other  visitors  expressing  a  wish  to  take  leave, 
whereupon  the  missionary,  as  was  his  wont,  pro- 
posed that  they  should  have  prayers  together 
before  they  separated.  He  read  a  chapter  out  of 
the  Holy  Book  of  the  Christians,  and  then,  while 
they  all  knelt  round  the  table,  he  offered  a  prayer, 
in  which  each  heart  must  ha^e  joined.  Not  only 


196  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

were  the  petitions  of  such  a  nature  that  every 
man  would  use  them  in  coming  before  the  Most 
High  God ;  but  there  was  also  something  to  suit 
the  individual  case  of  each  one  there.  Prosonno 
thought  within  himself,  "Oh!  that  my  heathen 
friends  could  hear  prayer  like  this,  and  feel  its 
value  as  I  do.  They  would  never  more  use  those 
stupid  charms  and  incantations  of  which  they 
hardly  understand  a  word !"  When  the  worship 
was  over,  the  little  party  separated.  Prosonno 
did  not  remember  ever  having  spent  so  pleasant 
an  evening. 

After  awhile  his  dullness  and  his  home-sickness 
vanished  by  degrees.  He  was  frequently  in  the 
house  of  the  missionary;  on  two  evenings  in  the 
week  he  went  for  a  special  lesson  on  theology, 
and  often  visited  it  at  other  times.  Whenever  he 
went,  the  missionary's  wife  always  received  him 
kindly,  and  talked  to  him  so  encouragingly  about 
Kaminee,  that  a  faint  gleam  of  hope  began  to  rise 
in  his  heart,  that  one  day  she  too  might  be  a 
Christian.  But  the  missionary  and  his  wife  were 
English  people,  and  could  not  entirely  sympathize 
in  his  every  thought  and  feeling;  so,  after  all,  the 
native  converts  were  his  best  and  most  intimate 


NO   CASTE   AMONG   CHRISTIANS.  197 

friends,  and  new  ones  were  daily  added  to  the 
number. 

There  was  one  thing  among  the  Christians  that 
specially  struck  Prosonno  as  right  and  just;  al- 
though being  a  Brahmin,  he  might  have  been 
expected  to  chafe  a  little  under  the  new  regime. 
This  was  the  total  absence  of  caste.  Hitherto  all 
the  lower  castes,  had  considered  it  an  honor  to 
be  allowed  to  taste  food  prepared  for  him;  his 
blessing  was  thought  to  be  the  highest  privilege; 
and  some  had  even  gone  so  far  as  to  drink  the 
water  in  which  he  had  dipped  his  feet.  All  this 
was  ended  now.  He  was  treated  like  a  man,  and 
being  a  gentleman  in  character,  education  and 
manners,  he  was  treated  like  a  gentleman  also. 
But  this  was  not  on  account  of  his  Brahminhood. 
Had  he  been  educated  like  his  poor  brother  Surjo, 
he  would  have  found  the  lowest  Soodras  taking 
their  place  above  him  in  the  social  scale.  Then, 
again,  there  were  no  distinctions  of  food  in  this 
community.  Each  man  ate  what  he  liked,  or  ab- 
stained from  what  he  disliked. 

Prosonno  did  not  learn  the  lesson  of  the 
brotherhood  of  man  in  a  day.  Perhaps  he 
never  learnt  it  so  completely  as  his  friend  Ram 


198  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

Doyal,  who  surprised  him  greatly  one  morning, 
by  asking  him  to  be  present  at  his  marriage. 
Prosonno  had  only  lived  among  the  Christians 
about  four  months,  and  had  not  yet  seen  a  Chris- 
tian wedding,  so  he  exclaimed  in  some  astonish- 
ment— 

"You  to  be  married,  Rdm  Doyal!  To  whom? 
I  do  not  understand.  The  daughters  of  the  gen- 
tlemen converts  of  this  station  seem  all  little 
girls;  but  perhaps  you  have  gone  elsewhere  to 
seek  a  bride?" 

"No,  she  is  here,"  replied  Rdm  Doyal,  laugh- 
ing. "But  I  expected  your  aristocratic  high 
mightiness  would  be  offended  at  my  choice;  so, 
though  you  hold  the  first  place  among  my  friends, 
you  are  the  last  to  hear  my  secret." 

"You  puzzle  me,"  said  Prosonno,  "you  surely 
cannot  mean  to  marry " 

"Marry  whom?"  asked  his  friend.  "Out  with 
it,  I  believe  you  will  hit  it  off  exactly." 

"Not  one  of  the  girls  out  of  the  orphan  school? 
No,  no,  Rdm  Doyal,  that  must  not  be !" 

"'Tis  even  so,  however,  Prosonno;  and  if  bet- 
ting were  allowed  among  Christians,  I  would  bet 


CHOICE   OF   A   BRIDE.  199 

you  ten  to  one,  that  in  less  than  three  months  you 
will  say  I  have  done  the  right  thing." 

"But,  Ram  Doyal,  think  a  moment;  what  is 
her  caste?  They  say  those  girls  are  the  poorest 
of  orphans  rescued  in  some  famine.  Why,  her 
parents  may  have  been  basket-makers,  or  shoe- 
makers,* for  aught  you  know!" 

"  I  hardly  think  it,  from  her  sweet  face  and  fair 
complexion,"  answered  his  friend.  "But  sup- 
posing they  were  as  you  say,  *I  do  not  marry  the 
parents,  who  are  dead  and  gone,  but  the  daughter, 
who  is  as  good,  and  as  clever,  and  as  pretty  as  any 
girl  you  would  wish  to  see." 

"Oh,  then  I  know  her!"  answered  Prosonno. 
"She  is  the  one  who  sits  first  in  the  second  row 
at  church,  on  the  women's  side,  and  they  call  her 
Suseela.  Is  it  not  so?" 

"Yes." 

"Well,  she  is  pretty;  but  fancy  a  Brahmin 
marrying  nobody  knows  who.  For  my  part,  if 
God  ever  gives  me  my  Kaminee!  well! — =but  if 
not,  Protestant  monkhood  for  me!  If  I  am  a 
Christian,  that  is  no  reason  why  I  should  sully 
my  blood." 

*  Castes  whose  very  shadow  would  defile  a  Brahmin. 


200  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

"  As  you  please,"  returned  Edm  Doyal,  shrug- 
ging his  shoulders.  "Now,  will  your  Brahmin- 
ship  condescend  to  attend  the  wedding?" 

"Yes,  indeed;  his  Brahminship  will  come;  he 
wants  to  see  the  fun.  Pray  are  the  Baboos  to 
feast  with  the  bride's  school-fellows,  on  the  school- 
lawn,  where  they  usually  dine  ?" 

"No,  you  provoking  fellow.  I  did  think  of 
that,  till  the  bride  herself  told  me  that  her  school- 
fellows preferred  to  have  their  feast  apart.  You 
see  these  basket-makers'  daughters  have  some 
sense  after  all ;  so  as  they  have  refused  our  com- 
pany, I  ask  you  to  a  wedding  dinner  at  the  chief 
catechist's,  whose  wife  has  kindly  undertaken  it 
for  me.  I  cannot  promise,  however,  that  all  the 
guests  shall  be  Brahmins.  Baboo  S.  was  of  the 
brazier's  caste ;  Baboo  G.  of  the  doctor,  and  Baboo 
T.  only  a " 

"Oh  yes,  yes,  I  know  that,"  returned  Prosonno. 
"Still  they  are  educated  men  and  gentlemen;  and 
we  as  Christians  have  done  with  all  other  distinc- 
tions." 

"Oh,  have  we?  Only  we  will  not  marry  a 
basket-maker!  I  am  truly  glad  of  it,  because 
there  is  but  one  Suseela  in  the  world,  and  I  want 


THE   BRIDE   AND   BRIDEGROOM.  201 

her  for  myself."  So  saying  the  happy  bridegroom 
elect  went  to  complete  his  arrangements  with  a 
native  confectioner,  respecting  the  quantity  of 
sweetmeats  to  be  furnished  for  the  wedding  feast. 
On  the  appointed  day,  about  eleven  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  a  large  Christian  congregation,  con- 
sisting of  men,  women,  and  the  girls  of  the  orphan 
school,  about  sixty  in  rr.mber,  assembled  in  the 
little  church.  When  all  was  ready,  the  mission- 
ary beckoned  to  Rdm  Doyal,  who  was  seated 
among  the  men,  to  come  and  stand  before  him 
and  the  assembled  witnesses.  At  the  same  mo- 
ment the  missionary's  wife  led  in  the  bride,  and 
the  two  stood  side  by  side.  She  was  about  sixteen 
years  of  age,  very  modest  and  pretty,  and  was 
attired  in  a  white  muslin  Saree,  which  served  the 
purpose  of  a  veil,  and  under  the  folds  of  which  a 
tight-fitting  pink  silk  bodice,  trimmed  with  silver 
lace,  showed  to  great  advantage.  Her  beautiful 
long  black  hair  was  neatly  plaited  and  fastened 
up  with  pins;  while  Rdm  Doyal,  who  was  in  a 
good  situation,  and  able  to  aiford  the  present,  not 
caring  to  be  wiser  than  the  inspired  writer,  who 
asks,  "  Can  a  maid  forget  her  ornaments,  or  a 
bride  her  attire?"  had  bought  his  bride  a  few  gold 


202  LIFE   BY   THE    GANGES. 

jewels  also,  after  the  fashion  of  the  country.  She 
wore  them  now  for  the  first  time,  and  they  suited 
her  well,  and  heightened  the  eifect  produced  by 
her  native  beauty.  The  bridegroom  himself  wore 
his  usual  costume,  with  the  addition  of  only  a 
Cashmere  shawl  thrown  over  his  shoulders,  the 
gift  of  a  heathen  uncle,  who,  lately  pacified  to- 
wards him,  had  taken  this  fitting  opportunity  of 
showing  his  kind  feeling. 

The  marriage  service  was  very  simple.  It  con- 
sisted in  the  missionary  asking  the  bride  and 
bridegroom  in  their  native  language  whether,  in 
the  presence  of  God  and  of  those  witnesses,  they 
took  each  other  for  their  lawful  and  only  partner 
through  life,  to  have  and  to  hold  until  death 
parted  them.  They  both  joined  hands,  and  an- 
swered, "We  do."  Then  he  pronounced  them 
man  and  wife,  and  said,  "  What  God  hath  joined 
together  let  no  man  put  asunder."  After  that  a 
marriage  hymn  was  sung,  and  then  the  missionary 
commended  the  newly-wedded  pair  to  the  keeping 
and  the  blessing  of  God.  Last  of  all,  they  signed 
a  contract,  containing  promises  similar  to  those 
already  made  in  words,  and  then  the  marriage 
was  complete. 


SIMPLICITY   OF   THE   CEREMONY.  208 

Prosonno  contrasted  this  chaste  and  holy  service 
with  the  disgusting  proceedings  that  had  taken 
place  on  the  day  on  which  he  had  brought  home 
his  wife  from  the  house  of  her  father:  and  the 
contrast  tended  to  heighten  his  admiration  of 
Christianity,  that  chosen  religion  in  which  he 
daily  saw  something  new  to  love  and  respect.  As 
the  bride  and  the  bridegroom  were  going  out  of 
church  to  the  house  of  the  catechist,  where  the 
feast  was  to  be  held,  Prosonno  whispered  to  his 
next  neighbor — 

"Of  course,  as  the  bride  is  already  a  woman, 
there  will  be  no  second-marriage  ceremony  needed 
in  a  year  or  two,  as  is  the  custom  among  us?" 

"Oh  no,  certainly  not,"  was  the  reply.  "You 
know  the  cottage  that  Rdm  Doyal  has  lately  taken 
and  furnished?  Well,  thither  he  and  his  wife 
will  repair  as  soon  as  the  feast  is  over.  What 
need  will  there  be  of  another  ceremony?" 

"  Oh !  I  see  none  at  all.  But  will  they  live 
alone  ?  Can  the  bride  be  trusted  by  herself,  all 
the  time  her  husband  is  at  office  ?" 

"  Live  alone !  Yes,  of  course.  Ram  Doyal  'a 
relatives  are  all  Hindoos.  With  whom  should  he 
live  ?  And  as  for  the  bride,  you  had  better  not 


204  LIFE    BY   THE   GANGES. 

let  her  husband  hear  that  question  of  yours,  if 
you  wish  to  keep  friends  with  him  ;  that's  all." 

"But  I  thought — I  thought,"  said  Prosonno, 
blushing,  and  hardly  knowing  how  to  get  out  of 
the  dilemma,  "  I  thought  she  would  be  too  inex- 
perienced to  get  on  well  alone.  There  are  dozens 
of  things  our  wives  have  to  learn  from  their 
mothers-in-law,  as  you  know  very  well.  Fancy 
our  little  brides  being  set  down  alone  in  a  great 
empty  house  the  day  they  were  married !  Why 
it  would  be  the  death  of  them !" 

"  Perhaps ;  but  that  would  be  just  because  they 
are  so  little.  There  is  some  difference,  you  must 
allow,  between  a  young  woman  of  sixteen  and  a 
child  of  eight." 

"  Well,  yes ;  I  was  forgetting  that,"  returned 
Prosonno.  "  But  do  none  of  the  native  Christian 
girls  marry  till  they  reach  this  age  ?" 

"Hardly  any,  and  some  are  older;  and  as  for 
English  young  ladies,  I  dare  say  our  missionary's 
wife  has  told  you,  they  often  do  not  marry  until 
they  are  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  old." 

The  wedding  feast  went  off  remarkably  well. 
There  were  some  four  and  twenty  native  gentle- 
men guests,  who  dined  in  the  verandah  off  China 


THE    WEDDING    FEAST.  205 

plates,  it  is  true,  but  still  preserving  the  Bengalee 
custom  of  sitting  cross-legged  on  the  floor,  and 
eating  with  their  fingers  in  preference  to  knives 
and  forks  Their  ladies  were  to  take  their  dinner 
in  an  inner  apartment.  The  viands  consisted  of 
rice,  and  six  or  seven  varieties  of  curry,  made  of 
meat,  fish,  and  vegetables ;  they  had  nothing 
roasted  or  boiled.  The  above  was  their  first 
course ;  while  the  second  was  made  up  of  curds, 
milk,  and  sweetmeats. 

It  may  seem  strange  to  our  readers  that  Chris- 
tian converts,  such  as  these,  had  not  yet  learned 
the  European  fashion  of  men  and  women  sitting 
at  meat  together.  Such  must  remember  that  the 
converts  were  in  a  transition  state;  they  had  cast 
off  their  old  religion ;  but  they  were  not  prepared 
all  at  once  to  cast  off  every  social  usage  that  they 
had  followed  ever  since  they  had  possessed  con- 
scious being.  By  degrees  they  would  do  so.  The 
husbands  had  already  begun  to  eat  with  their  own 
wives,  when  in  the  privacy  of  their  homes ;  but 
at  a  large  party,  men  and  women  were  still  shy 
of  mingling  together  in  social  intercourse,  such  as 
would  have  been  unheard  of  in  their  native  state. 

The  dinner  for  the  ladies  was  to  be  served 


206  LIFE    BY   THE   GANGES. 

About  half  an  hour  later  than  that  of  their  hus- 
bands, to  allow  time  to  the  catechist's  wife  (who 
was  directress  of  the  whole)  to  see  that  they  were 
both  properly  attended  to;  she  herself,  kind  crea- 
ture, never  attempting  to  sit  down  at  all ;  she 
could  easily  have  something  special  for  supper, 
she  said,  when  all  the  rest  were  gone.  At  length 
it  was  ready,  when  lo !  the  bride  was  nowhere  to 
be  found.  It  was  not  difficult,  however,  to  con- 
jecture where  she  must  have  gone ;  and  one  of  the 
female  guests  immediately  set  out  for  the  orphan 
school,  which  was  but  a  little  way  off,  remarking 
as  she  went,  "To  eat  off  a  plantain  leaf  with 
those  one  loves,  is  sweeter  than  to  feast  off  the 
golden  dish  of  a  stranger,"  thus  thinks  the  I  'ide, 
I  fancy.  Her  proverb  was  literally  verified  for 
she  found  Suseela  .in  the  midst  of  her  sc  ool- 
companions,  who  were  dining  on  the  lawn,  -ach 
girl  being  furnished  with  a  plantain  leaf  >  »r  a 
plate.  They  had  done  wisely  in  asking  to  be  left 
to  themselves.  Both  parties  were  the  more  c  >m- 
fortable  for  it,  and  theirs  was  the  merrier  party 
of  the  two.  The  bride  had  not  dined  with  th^m  ; 
she  had  merely  been  there  to  watch  their  ei\  jy- 
ment;  that  was  natural.  She  now  put  on  a  very 


CONSECRATION   OP   THE   NEW    HOME.         207 

matronly,  dignified  air,  and  followed  the  woman 
who  had  come  for  her ;  that  was  natural  too. 

A  few  hours  later  found  her  alone  with  her 
husband  in  their  neat  cottage  home. 

"Shall  we  kneel  down,  my  Suseela,  and  ask 
that  this  house  may  become  a  temple  in  which 
God  shall  deign  to  dwell  with  us  ?"  he  said. 

"  Do  so,"  was  Suseela's  reply.  "  Ask  Him  to 
live  with  us  here,  until  we  are  ready  to  go  to  Him, 
and  inhabit  the  mansions  that  His  love  has  pre- 
pared for  us."  And  then  they  knelt  down,  those 
travelers  together  to  that  distant  land,  and  asked 
for  blessings  on  that  sweet  home-nest  that  God 
had  given  them  to  sojourn  in  for  a  while.  Ear- 
nestly did  they  pray  that  it  might  be  flooded  with 
light,  and  joy,  and  melody ;  and  be  "  a  shadow 
faint,  yet  in  its  lines  complete,"  of  that  better 
home  of  promised  beauty,  which  had  been  pur- 
chased for  them  by  the  peerless  LOVE  OF  CHRIST. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

IT  is  time  to  turn  once  more  to  Prosonno's  hea- 
then home,  and  see  what  scenes  were  being 
enacted  there.  The  horror  and  consternation  that 
filled  most  minds  at  the  recital  of  the  terrible 
scene  that  had  taken  place  on  the  river's  bank, 
may  be  better  imagined  than  described.  Almost 
the  first  question  that  arose  was,  whether  Kaminee 
ought  to  divest  herself  of  her  ornaments,  and 
begin  the  austerities  of  a  state  of  widowhood. 
The  grandmother  decided  it.  Kaminee  was  not 
a  widow.  "As  surely,"  she  said,  "as  the  sun 
would  rise  when  that  dreadful  night  should  be 
passed,  so  surely  would  Kaminee's  husband  be 
given  back  to  her  one  day.  And  Kaminee  be- 
lieved her;  for  had  not  the  magician  promised 
him  to  her  longing  heart?  Those  thirty-three 
days  were  not  yet  passed.  Alas,  poor  child!  All 
hope  from  that  source  was  doomed  to  disappoint- 
ment. The  magician  she  never  saw  again;  and  if 

208 


SURJO   MAD.  209 

ever  her  husband  should  be  brought  back  to  her, 
it  would  be  through  no  divinations  of  his. 

The  family  were  horribly  shocked  at  Surjo's 
miserable  condition.  Had  they  been  acquainted 
with  the  full  extent  of  his  guilt,  their  feelings 
would  have  partaken  more  of  indignation  than 
of  pity;  but  the  grandmother,  the  only  person 
who  could  have  told  the  truth,  thought  it  wiser 
to  hold  her  peace.  So  the  tide  of  the  family 
prejudice  turned  against  the  innocent  and  uncon- 
scious Prosonno;  while  they  all  agreed  that  it  was 
utterly  impossible  to  harm  a  Christian  or  turn 
him  from  the  error  of  his  way;  the  devil,  they 
said,  helped  his  own.  The  Hindoos  have  an  un- 
conquerable dislike  to  hospitals,  alms-houses,  or 
asylums  of  any  kind.  Thus  it  happened  that 
although  Surjo's  madness  assumed  at  times  a 
violent  character,  and  in  reality  needed  skillful 
treatment,  it  never  occurred  to  them  to  place  him 
under  restraint  beyond  such  as  they  were  able  to 
contrive  for  him  within  the  family  home.  At 
first  they  thought  even  this  was  cruel,  and  it  was 
not  until  he  had  struck  his  own  mother,  and  at- 
tempted to  throw  his  infant  daughter  out  of  the 
window,  that  they  gave  orders  for  hi?  confinement; 

14 


210  LIFE    BY    THE    GANGES 

and  where  should  his  cell  be?  There  was  no 
room  in  the  house  so  secure  as  that  in  which 
Prosonno  had  been  placed ;  indeed,  no  other  room 
was  in  the  least  secure.  So  Surjo  was  locked  up 
In  the  very  place  that  he  had  bolted  and  barred 
and  nailed  with  his  own  hands  for  his  Christian 
brother. 

His  madness  did  not  always  assume  a  violent 
form.  He  would  crouch  down  in  a  dark  corner 
with  his  glaring  eyes  fixed  on  the  wall,  and  mut- 
ter curses  and  incantations,  and  sometimes  seem 
to  be  talking  to  some  one  who  was  not  visible  to 
the  eyes  of  his  family.  He  was  put  under  the 
charge  of  one  of  the  servants,  who  remained  \vith 
him,  gave  him  his  food  at  regular  hours,  and 
attended  to  the  lighting  of  his  room  at  night;  for 
the  wretched  man  could  not  bear  to  be  left  in 
darkness.  His  father  anH  brothers  at  first  would 
often  go  to  see  him;  but  he  rarely  recognized 
them;  and  it  became  such  a  painful  duty,  that 
after  a  while  they  gave  it  up. 

Mohendro  himself  was  most  anxious  to  go  on  a 
pilgrimage,  and  was  only  dissuaded  from  doing  so 
by  the  earnest  entreaties  of  his  mother,  who  asked 
him  if  he  could  leave  his  eldest  son  in  such  a 


MOHENDRO'S   FEELINGS.  .211 

miserable  condition,  and  his  mother  and  wife  iu 
his  brother's  house?  The  old  man,  however,  en- 
deavored in  some  slight  measure  to  atone  for  the 
family  sins  of  the  last  six  months,  by  performing 
his  poojas  with  greater  strictness  than  he  had  ever 
done.  Prosonno,  the  cause  of  all  the  evil,  was 
never  mentioned  in  the  family.  They  had  heard 
of  his  baptism  with  indifference,  and  not  a  word 
was  said  about  reclaiming  him  again.  "He  had 
been  the  root  of  all  this  sorrow  and  disgrace," 
Mohendro  said ;  "  why  should  they  grieve  to  get 
rid  of  him?  He  was  their  son  no  longer,  but  an 
outcast,  a  dog,  a  Christian !" 

The  women  all  this  time  had  been  living  quietly 
on,  each  performing  her  household  work  and  giv- 
ing the  spare  time  to  sleeping  or  thinking.  Shou- 
daminee  and  Nistarinee  slept  nearly  all  day  long; 
Shoudaminee,  to  forget  her  cares:  and  Nistarinee, 
to  drown  the  dullness;  for  she  loved  excitement, 
and  half  regretted  that  it  was  over.  She  forgot 
that  she  had  suffered  nothing  in  the  matter;  while 
Shoudaminee  and  Kaminee  felt  that  their  pleas- 
ant prospects  in  life  were  ruined.  Kaminee 
would  sit  for  hours  in  her  own  room,  going  over 
in  her  mind  the  events  that  had  occurred  since 


212  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

the  morning  that  Prosonno  first  left  his  home. 
It  seemed  so  long  to  her,  and  she  was  afraid  she 
should  never  see  him  again.  The  long-wished- 
for  thirty-third  day  was  over;  the  magician  had 
not  appeared,  and  she  was  fast  giving  herself  up 
to  despair.  She  clung  to  Hindooism,  and  yet 
longed  to  know  more  about  the  new  religion  that 
her  husband  professed.  "Ah!"  she  thought, 
"there  is  no  end  to  my  trouble:  would  that  I  had 
never  been  born !" 

The  old  grandmother  also  reflected  much  on 
what  had  lately  passed  in  the  family,  but  in  a  very 
different  way  from  Kaminee.  Her  mind  dwelt  most 
on  Prosonno's  calm  trust  in  the  God  he  wor- 
shipped; and  his  faith  that  that  God  would  in  the 
end  deliver  him  from  his  enemies.  And  then 
she  thought  of  Surjo's  wicked  schemes,  and  how 
they  had  all  been  frustrated;  how  Prosonno  had 
got  safe  to  the  missionary;  and  how  Surjo  was 
lying  chained  in  the  room  he  had  prepared  for  his 
brother.  "Surely,"  she  thought,  "Prosonno's 
God  must  be  the  true  God."  She  took  great  care 
of  the  Testament  that  the  missionary  had  given 
her  so  long  ago,  and  often  longed  to  read  it,  and 
learn  more  about  the  religion  of  the  Christians; 


SURJO'S   TRAGICAL   END.  213 

but  she  could  not  read  herself,  and  she  was  afraid 
to  ask  any  of  the  servants  to  read  it  to  her,  lest 
fresh  suspicion  should  be  awakened.  She  had 
to  be  content  with  thinking  on  these  things,  and 
hiding  them  in  her  heart. 

Things  went  on  in  this  way  for  some  little 
while ;  but  the  family  peace  was  soon  again  to  be 
disturbed  by  another  unexpected  event. 

One  night,  about  two  months  after  the  tragedy 
on  the  river's  bank,  the  servant  who  had  charge 
of  Surjo  was  awaked  by  a  piercing  scream  proceed- 
ing from  the  room  in  which  Surjo  was  locked. 
He  had  gone  in  himself,  an  hour  before,  and  left 
the  miserable  man  asleep.  Surjo  had  been  much 
more  tractable  lately,  and  had  begun  to  show  signs 
of  returning  reason ;  indeed,  his  father  was  enter- 
taining the  hope  that  he  would  soon  be  quite 
restored.  The  man,  knowing  this,  was  all  the 
more  surprised,  and  being  very  superstitious  also, 
thought  some  evil  spirit  was  with  him.  Without 
a  moment's  thought  he  rushed  away,  taking  the 
key  of  the  door  with  him ;  for  the  screams  were 
becoming  louder  and  louder,  and  he  was  thor- 
oughly frightened.  Soon  the  whole  family  were 
at  the  door,  calling  in  vain  to  the  keeper  for  the 


214  LIFE    BY    THE    GANGES. 

key.  It  took  several  minutes  to  break  through 
the  numerous  bars  on  the  outside,  and  when  the 
door  went  back  with  a  crash,  they  saw  the  wretched 
Surjo  biting  his  chains,  tearing  his  hair,  and  ra- 
ving, for  he  was  surrounded  with  flame. 

At  first  they  were  too  stunned  to  think  of  the 
cause;  but  Chondro  Kumar  soon  gave  the  order 
to  bring  water,  which  they  threw  over  the  mise- 
rable man.  This  seemed  only  to  increase  his 
agony;  and  when  the  fire  was  quenched,  and 
Mohendro  and  his  sons  went  to  see  the  condition 
in  which  Surjo  was  left,  they  found  him  on  the 
ground — dead.  All  kinds  of  restoratives  were 
employed,  but  in  vain.  Surjo  had  gone  to  hear 
the  terrible  sentence  from  the  righteous  Judge, 
"  Cast  ye  the  unprofitable  servant  into  outer  dark- 
ness." The  little  oil-lamp  had  fallen  from  its 
niche  in  the  wall  on  Surjo  while  he  was  sleeping, 
and  had  set  fire  to  the  thin  muslin  dress  that  he 
wore.  So  the  light  which  Surjo  could  not  bear 
to  be  without,  proved  the  cause  of  his  death. 

The  family  were  far  more  shocked  than  in  Pro- 
sonno's  case ;  and  the  old  grandmother  pondered 
long  over  Surjo's  end.  She  made  Nobo  write  and 
tell  Prosonno ;  and  tried  to  cheer  Shoudaminee'g 


Surjo's  sad  fate. 


Page  214. 


FUNERAL   RITES.  215 

drooping  spirit ;  for  she  was  looking  forward  with 
great  dread  to  the  life  of  hardship  before  her,  as 
a  widow. 

The  funeral  ceremonies  were  very  strictly  at- 
tended to ;  the  father  was  determined  to  think  of 
him  only  as  the  religious  Hindoo,  and  seemed  to 
forget  the  last  two  months  of  his  life.  If  they 
would  cross  his  mind  unpleasantly,  the  fault  was 
laid  on  Prosonno,  and  Surjo  was  called  the  victim 
of  his  brother's  anger  and  spite. 

Whc  the  feast  which  concludes  the  funeral 
rites  was  over,  Mohendro  told  his  family  that  they 
had  better  return  home.  They  all  readily  agreed ; 
for  they  said  they  had  been  living  on  their 
brother's  hospitality  long  enough ;  and  they  would 
be  delighted  to  go  away  from  the  scene  of  so 
much  trouble.  So  they  returned  to  the  old  house, 
which  was  half  a  mile  from  the  missionary  station 
where  Prosonno  lived. 

Grief  in  Bengalee  households,  though  very 
violent  at  first,  is  soon  forgotten.  In  a  few  weeks 
the  life  in  Mohendro's  family  quite  regained  its 
usual  spirit,  and  a  stranger  would  scarcely  have 
imagined  that  they  had  recently  passed  through 
BO  much  sorrow.  At  length  Mohendro  determined 


216  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

to  carry  out  his  wish  of  making  a  pilgrimage  to 
Benares,*  to  offer  atonement  for  Prosonno's  sin  in 
becoming  a  Christian,  and  to  wash  out  the  stain 
on  the  good  name  of  the  family.  His  mother 
and  wife  both  tried  to  dissuade  him  from  his  pur- 
pose ;  but  he  had  decided,  and  would  not  listen  to 
them.  "  I  am  growing  an  old  man,"  he  said ; 
"  and  if  I  delay,  I  shall  never  be  able  to  go.  I 
long  to  see  the  holy  city,  and  it  is  time  that 
Chondro  and  Nobo  Kumar  should  learn  to  be  the 
head  of  this  house,  as  Surjo  is  dead,  and  I  shall 
soon  follow  him."  The  day  of  his  departure  was 
a  sorrowful  one  for  the  family.  Mohendro  blessed 
them  in  the  name  of  the  gods,  and  gave  his  sons 
instructions  about  the  management  of  the  house- 
hold. They  parted  from  him  with  much  weeping. 
Chondro  and  Nobo  accompanied  him  to  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  Ganges,  and  saw  him  fairly  begin 
his  journey.  Both  the  brothers  agreed  that  Pro- 
sonno  was  a  most  hard-hearted  wretch  to  have 
caused  this  separation,  which  almost  broke  his 
father's  heart.  A  fortnight  after,  Nobo  Kumar 

*  Benares,  or  Kasee,  the  Golden  City,  is  a  place  esteemed 
most  holy ;  on  the  Ganges,  four  hundred  and  sixty  miles  abov» 
Calcutta. 


MOHENDRO'S  LETTER  TO  NOBO.      2l7 

received  the  following  letter,  which  gave  great  joy 
to  the  whole  household : — 

"  I,  Mohendro  Kumar  Chatterjea,  am  always 
blessing  you,  and  in  my  daily  worship  to  the 
father  Siva,  am  begging  for  your  prosperity  and 
success.  I  hope  you  and  all  the  other  members 
of  the  family  are  quite  well  in  body  and  mind. 
O  my  dear  son  Nobo  Kumar,  though  I  am  at 
Benares,  and  enjoying  the  pilgrimage  in  every 
way,  my  spirit  is  with  you  in  Calcutta.  If  ever 
you  should  be  sick  (which  I  do  not  wish)  send  for 
my  friend  Dr.  Komol  Dutt,  and  tell  him  that 
your  father  will  not  mind  the  expense  if  he  treat 
you  well ;  and  he  must  send  the  bill  to  me,  and  I 
will  pay  it  at  once.  Nobo,  my  son,  I  hope  you 
have  borne  in  mind  all  the  counsels  that  I  gave 
you  before  my  starting  for  Benares.  I  shall  repeat 
them  again,  that  you  may  keep  them  the  better  in 
mind.  Never  walk  in  the  sun.  If  you  wish  to 
go  out  anywhere,  order  the  Sirkar  to  get  you  a 
garie  or  palkee.*  Never  quarrel  with  anybody, 
especially  with  your  college  friends.  Don't  get 
into  bad  company.  Speak  pleasant  words  to  the 
servants ;  never  be  harsh  or  rough  with  them ;  for 

*  Carriage  or  palankeen. 


218  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

it  is  written  in  our  Shastres  that  subjects  and  ser- 
vants ought  to  be  treated  like  sons  and  daughters. 

"  Do  not  sit  up  at  night  to  study ;  go  to  bed 
soon  after  eleven.  Ah,  my  dear  boy  do  not  read 
that  fascinating  book,  the  Bible ;  do  not  read  any 
Christian  books  or  associate  with  Christians,  and 
especially  with  that  apostate  for  whom  I  have  left 
HOME,  FAMILY,  FRIENDS,  and  CotnsrrnY. 

"Write  me  letters  as  often  as  you  can,  and 
mention  in  them  everything  respecting  home  and 
yourself.  Go  to  Kalighat*  once  a  month.  Re- 
peat your  Shondhya  every  morning  and  evening. 
Be  humble  and  forbearing;  do  not  get  angry  sud- 
denly, nor  be  hasty  in  anything.  If  you  go  out 
anywhere,  always  pray  first  to  the  goddess  Kali, 
who  will  bless  you  and  make  you  prosperous. 
Remember,  my  son  Nobo,  that  the  above  counsels 
are  from  a  father  who  is  to  you  a  god ;  so  make  a 
garland  of  them,  and  wear  it  round  the  neck  of 
your  mind,  and  act  accordingly. 

"Where  is  the  apostate?  Does  he  ever  write 
to  you?  If  he  does,  never  reply.  Has  the  Padre" 
given  him  any  situation  ?  How  is  he  supporting 

*  To  the  temple  of  the  hideous  Kali.    Calcutta  is  a  corruptioa 
of  Kalighat 


MOHENDRO'S   LETTER   TO   NOBO.  219 

himself  now?  Has  he  received  a  Sahib's  name? 
Keep  up  no  connection  with  him;  forget  that  he 
is  my  son  and  your  brother.  He  has  now  become 
an  outcast  by  receiving  baptism;  and  he  has  no 
right  to  give  out  to  the  world  that  he  is  my  son. 
Pluck  him  out  of  your  mind,  and  think  that  he 
is  dead.  By  the  advice  of  the  Bhottacharias 
here,  I  am  about  to  perform  a  Sraddha*  for  him 
who  is  now  dead  to  me. 

"How  is  that  neighbor  of  mine,  who  has 
troubled  me  in  the  magistrate's  court  for  the  last 
six  years?  If  he  try  to  do  anything  again,  let 
me  know  at  once;  and  tell  him  that  though  I  am 
at  Benares,  I  am  still  living,  and  it  will  not  take 
more  than  five  days  to  go  down  to  Calcutta. 
Never  be  afraid  of  him,  my  son ;  he  is  as  great  a 
coward  as  a  woman ;  and  always,  like  women,  jiis 
talking  is  everything;  in  his  speech  he  can  con- 
quer all  the  kings  of  the  world,  kill  the  bravest 
soldiers,  and  destroy  the  finest  countries;  but  that 
is  all  and  nothing  more;  so  do  not  be  afraid  of 
him,  my  son. 

"Now  I  wish  to  close  my  letter,  as  I  am  going 
to  see  the  father  Siva  in  company  with  my  Bhot- 

*  Funeral  service. 


220  LIFE    BY    THE    GANGES. 

tacharia,  who  is  waiting  for  me;  but  for  the  sake 
of  the  promise  made  to  you  before  I  left,  I  shall 
give  you  a  brief  account  of  this  holy  place.  On 
my  reaching  Benares  I  almost  lost  myself,  think- 
ing that  I  had  entered  into  heaven.  Oh !  how 
beautiful  is  this  city.  It  is  adorned  with  numer- 
ous temples  of  various  shapes,  and  is  crowded 
with  people  of  every  clime,  color,  and  country. 
Some  of  these  holy  pilgrims  who  have  the  good 
luck  of  living  in  this  holy  place,  always  sit 
around  the  father  Mahadeo,*  and  worship  him 
continually,  while  others  loudly  repeat  the  father's 
name,  that  is  Bom,  Bom,  Mahadeo.  Pilgrims 
come  in  thousands  to  bathe  in  the  river  Ganges, 
the  deliverer  of  the  fallen,  every  day  repeating 
the  words,  HORIBOL,  HORIBOL,  BOM  MAHADEO. 
Rich  pilgrims  expend  thousands  of  rupees  in 
giving  food  and  raiment  to  the  holy  Brahmins 
and  the  poor.  Truly,  Nobo,  this  is  a  holy  place. 
Truly  the  god  Mahadeo  resides  here.  Happy  are 
they  who  can  aiford  to  spend  their  lives  in  this 
place  by  seeing  and  worshipping  the  father  Siva 
every  day.  We  are  all  enjoying  good  health  by 
the  mercy  of  the  father  Mahadeo.  I  bless  you 

*  Mahadeo,  Mighty  God,  Siva. 


QUIET    LIFE    AT    HOME.  221 

heartily,  my  son,  Nobo.  I  hope  the  father  Siva 
will  bless  you  in  all  your  engagements,  and 
make  you  happy  forever  and  forever.  Report  the 
contents  of  this  letter  to  my  friends." 

All  Mohendro's  letters  were  in  this  style,  and 
his  sons  answered  them  regularly.  For  the  next 
three  months,  life  in  Prosonno's  family  went  on 
rather  monotonously.  Except  to  go  to  college,  or 
to  visit  a  friend,  Chondro  and  Nobo  scarcely  left 
the  house.  Their  old  friends  had  never  got  over 
the  feeling  that  there  was  terrible  disgrace  on  the 
family  name,  and  were  not  nearly  as  warm  as 
they  used  to  be.  The  young  men  sometimes  felt 
a  wish  to  see  Prosonno,  for  their  anger  disap- 
peared with  time;  but  they  were  afraid  of  incur- 
ring their  father's  displeasure,  and  it  never  came 
to  anything.  The  old  grandmother  was  growing 
more  aged  every  day ;  she  often  longed  to  see  her 
favorite  boy  again;  but  Mohendro  had  exacted 
the  promise  that  none  of  the  women  should  leave 
the  house  while  he  was  away. 

All  this  time  Shoudaminee  was  experiencing 
the  hardships  of  widowhood.  It  seemed  doubly 
hard  for  her;  for  being  the  Boro  Bo,  that  is,  the 
wife  of  the  eldest  son,  she  had  been  treated  with 


222  LIFE   BY   THE   GANQ£S. 

even  greater  consideration  than  the  others.  The 
grandmother  seemed  most  anxious  that  she  should 
fulfill  with  great  exactness  all  the  rules  in  the 
Shastres  relating  to  widows,  for  she  fully  believed 
that  a  wife,  by  mortifying  her  own  flesh,  may  win 
for  her  dead  husband,  however  great  his  sins,  the 
greatest  blessings  and  highest  honors  in  the  Hin- 
doo heaven;  and  she  had  a  feeling  in  her  heart 
that  all  that  could  be  done  for  the  benefit  of  Sur- 
jo's  soul  ought  to  be  done;  for  after  all,  was  he 
not  her  grandson  as  well  as  the  rest? 

The  trials  of  a  Hindoo  widow  are  many.  She 
is  not  allowed  to  sleep  on  anything  but  the  floor; 
she  is  allowed  only  one  meal  a  day,  and  that 
must  be  of  the  simplest  kind,  rice  and  vegetables; 
meat  and  fish  are  strictly  forbidden ;  while  twice 
a  month  she  has  to  fast  altogether.  She  is  for- 
bidden to  wear  a  single  ornament;  and  her  saree 
must  be  made  of  thick  white  cloth;  she  is  not 
allowed  to  plait  her  hair,  or  ornament  it  with 
vermillion.  Now,  the  wearing  of  jewels  and 
plaiting  of  hair  are  the  greatest  pleasures  of  a 
Hindoo  woman ;  it  was  no  wonder,  therefore,  that 
Shoudaminee  felt  the  privation  keenly.  She  was 
young,  about  twenty-five;  and  this  life  of  trial 


LIFE   OF    A   HINDOO   WIDOW.  223 

had  come  upon  her  so  unexpectedly,  which  seemed 
to  make  it  all  the  harder.  Her  grandmother 
tried  to  cheer  her;  and  Kaminee  suggested  that  it 
ought  to  be  some  consolation  to  her  to  know  that 
she  was  doing  something  for  her  husband,  while 
she  herself  could  do  nothing.  Happily  her  tem- 
per was  good ;  so  she  tried  to  bear  it  patiently 
without  murmuring. 

Kaminee  was  getting  more  and  more  dissatisfied 
with  Hindooism.  She  found  no  rest  in  it,  she 
was  growing  tired  of  the  daily  poojas,  which  she 
performed  with  great  exactness.  At  the  end  of 
each  day  she  would  ask  herself  if  she  were  bene- 
fitted  by  what  she  had  done;  she  felt  she  was  not; 
yet  did  not  know  where  to  learn  better.  If  ever 
she  broached  the  subject  to  Nobo,  he  always 
turned  it  off,  saying,  "  A  woman's  thoughts  ought 
to  be  in  the  household,  and  not  go  roaming  about 
seeking  after  a  new  religion ;  there  was  something 
bad  in  everything,  and  he  supposed  Hindooism 
was  not  an  exception." 

One  morning  as  Kaminee  and  Nistarinee  came 
up-stairs  from  washing  the  plates  and  finishing 
other  domestic  matters  after  their  morning  meal, 
Kaminee  said — • 


224  LIFE    BY   THE   GANGES. 

"Oh!  sister  Nistar,  as  we  have  nothing  partic- 
ular to  do  just  now,  suppose  I  get  ray  Sim  shikJiya 
(Spelling-book),  and  begin  to  teach  you  the  alpha- 
bet." 

"Teach  me  to  read!"  exclaimed  Nistar;  "why, 
all  the  old  women  tell  us  that  if  we  learn  to  read 
we  shall  become  widows." 

"Oh!  do  you  believe  that?"  replied  Karninee. 
"In  my  father's  house  there  used  to  be  a  school 
for  little  girls,  and  do  you  think  they  all  became 
widows?  Look,  besides,  at  the  families  we 
know.  Kartik  Baboo's  wife  can  read  and  write 
beautifully,  and  is  she  a  widow?" 

"  Well,  we  don't  know  what  may  happen,"  said 
Nistar;  "may  be,  if  we  were  not  widows,  we 
should  turn  Christians." 

"Christians!  Well,  perhaps  there  are  worse 
people  in  the  world  than  Christians/'  said  Kami- 
nee  quietly. 

Nistarinee  fired  up  directly. 

"You  like  the  Christians!  Kaminee,  after 
what  has  happened  in  our  family,  what  would  our 
father-in-law  say?" 

"Oh!  I  said  nothing  about  being  a  Christian 
myself;  so  pray  say  nothing  more  about  it.  Do 


NISTARINEE   AND    KAMINEE.  225 

you  know  that  in  Bholanath  Baboo's  house  the 
Boes  (young  married  women)  are  learning  to 
work?"  said  Kaminee,  Quickly  changing  the  sub- 
ject; though  she  had  been  thinking  a  good  deal 
nbout  it  lately,  but  saw  at  once  that  it  was  a  dan- 
gerous one. 

"  Needle- work !  now  that  must  be  rather 
pleasant,"  said  Nistar.  "  I  suppose  learning  work 
won't  make  us  Christians.  Who  teaches  them, 
Kaminee?" 

"Why,  it  seems  their  milk-woman  has  a  friend, 
who  knows  some  one  who  can  work.  She  went 
one  day,  and  they  were  all  so  delighted  with  it, 
that  they  have  engaged  her  to  be  their  teacher, 
and  are  going  to  give  her  three  rupees  a  month 
for  it." 

"What  are  you  talking  about?"  asked  Shouda- 
minee,  who  had  just  joined  them. 

"Oh!  about  learning  to  work,"  said  Nistar. 
"When  our  father-in-law  comes  home,  I  should 
like  to  go  to  Bholanath  Baboo's  house  to  see  how 
the  women  do  work  there." 

"And  see  what  the  new  bride  is  like,"  said 
Kaminee,  rather  mischievously;  "and  examine 
all  her  jewels!"  • 

15 


226  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

"Well,  if  you  think  I  am  curious,  }^ou  are 
mistaken,"  said  Nistarinee,  who  was  rather  mor- 
tified at  having  her  weak  point  discovered;  "so  to 
show  you  that  I  am  not  so,  pray  go  yourself, 
Mistress  Kaminee." 

"Now,  Nistar,  do  not  get  angry  so  easily,"  said 
Shoudaminee,  who  was  generally  peace-maker; 
for  she  possessed  by  far  the  best  temper  of  the 
three.  "You  are  as  soon  set  on  fire  as  a  lucifer 
match.  Besides,  I  do  not  care  for  jewels,  as  I 
cannot  wear  them  myself;  and  Kaminee,  you 
know,  is  not  allowed  to  go  out  since  her  husband 
went  away;  so  you  are  the  only  one  who  can 
go." 

"Well,"  said  Nistar,  who  carried  her  resem- 
blance to  lucifer  matches  to  the  extent  that  her 
fire  went  out  as  soon,  "well,  perhaps  I  may!  1 
should  very  much  like  to  tell  you  if  the  new 
bride  is  fair  or  dark;  what  her  eyes  are  like;  and 
whether  she  is  good-tempered  or  not."  So  the 
conversation  ended  for  that  day. 

At  the  end  of  four  months,  Mohendro  returned. 
The  family  rejoicing  was  delightful.  All  sorts  of 
small  feasts  were  planned;  "For  it  is  to  be  hoped," 
said  his  wife,  "that  we  have  had  enough  misfor- 


GOPAL   INVESTED   WITH   THE   POITA.         227 

tune  to  last  us  till  we  die,  and  that  now  Ae  shall 
live  in  peace  for  the  rest  of  our  days." 

It  happened  that  about  this  time  Surjo's  eldest 
son,  Gopal,  reached  the  age  of  eight  years,  the 
time  when  all  the  children  of  Brahmins  are 
invested  with  the  poita  or  Brahminical  thread,  in 
token  of  their  caste  and  position  in  society.  His 
mother  thought  that  there  could  be  no  more  fit- 
ting time  for  this  ceremony  than  the  present,  and 
it  was  settled  accordingly.  Mohendro  intended 
to  perform  it  himself. 

On  the  day  appointed,  Gopal  was  taken  from 
the  women's  apartments  into  the  outer  court. 
Here  there  were  a  great  many  Brahmin  priests 
assembled ;  and  in  their  presence,  with  innumer- 
able prayers  to  the  gods,  Mohendro  gave  his 
grandson  a  new  umbrella,  a  new  pair  of  wooden 
shoes  (khorom),  a  new  bamboo  stick,  and  a  new 
dhooty  and  chudder,  the  Hindoo  man's  dress. 
After  this  he  was  presented  with  a  poita,  very 
like  a  skein  of  cotton  in  appearance,  with  a  piece 
of  leather  and  some  kusa  grass  bound  round  it. 
For  the  next  three  days  Gopal  was  kept  in  a 
room  by  himself,  to  be  purified;  it  was  specially 
necessary  that  he  should  not  see  a  woman's  face, 


228  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

nor  hear  a  woman's  voice.  At  the  end  of  the 
third  day,  he  went  in  company  with  his  relatives 
aud  friends  to  the  side  of  the  holy  river,  and 
offered  the  seven  things  he  had  received  three 
days  ago  to  the  goddess  Gunga.  After  bathing 
himself,  he  received  a  new  suit  of  clothes,  and 
was  invested  in  a  new  poita.  Then  he  returned 
home,  a  BRAHMIN  on  his  own  account.  The 
ceremony  concluded  with  a  grand  feast.  Not- 
withstanding the  heavy  expenses  that  had  fallen 
upon  the  household,  Mohendro  spent  no  less  than 
five  hundred  rupees  on  this  worthless  form.  He 
was  too  proud  to  suffer  his  friends  to  see  that  the 
troubles  that  had  come  on  his  family  had  altered 
his  position  as  a  wealthy  man,  if  they  had  affected 
his  reputation  as  a  spotless  Hindoo. 


CHAPTER   VIM. 

"17  AMINEE'S  mind  was  ill  at  ease.  The  sep- 
JLV.  aration  from  her  husband  made  her  unhappy, 
and  the  cause  of  the  separation  made  the  wretched- 
ness doubly  bitter.  To  her  it  would  have  been 
far  better  that  he  should  be  dead,  as  his  family 
had  supposed  him  to  be,  when  they  took  him  to 
the  river-side,  than  to  live  to  be  an  outcast.  Then 
she  could  have  mourned  for  him  as  a  faithful 
Hindoo  widow  should.  Now  she  could  only  weep 
in  secret,  and  long  in  vain  for  his  return ;  though 
she  could  not  help  indulging  the  secret  hope,  that 
if  by  rigorous  austerities,  she  could  in  any  way 
atone  for  his  sin,  and  appease  the  anger  of  the 
gods,  he  might  yet  be  restored  to  her.  With  this 
view,  as  well  as  to  try  and  find  some  comfort  in 
her  sadness,  she  redoubled  her  attention  to  all  the 
ceremonies  of  Hindooism.  She  increased  the 
number  of  her  daily  poojas,  and  fasted  so. long 
and  so  often  as  to  undermine  her  strength.  Not 

229 


230  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

content  with  performing  these  poojas  herself,  she 
would  often  coax  her  husband's  little  sister,  Hera- 
lota,  to  learn  them  from  her.  Hemlota  was  a 
bright  lively  little  thing,  and  hardly  had  patience 
to  go  through  the  long  tedious  repetitious  of  these 
various  services ;  but  she  could  never  long  resist 
the  winning  gentleness  of  her  elder  sister,  to  whom 
she  looked  up  as  to  a  superior  being,  and  love  for 
her  generally  made  her  an  apt  scholar.  But  all 
these  things,  though  they  won  for  her  increased 
esteem  in  the  family,  and  the  hearty  love  of  little 
Hemlota,  brought  her  no  real  peace  of  mind. 
She  was  restless  and  unhappy,  and  seemed  to  take 
but  little  pleasure  in  anything. 

While  she  was  feeling  thus,  the  grandmother 
one  day  expressed  a  great  wish  to  pay  a  visit  to 
her  favorite  Prosonno.  She  felt  as  she  got  older 
that  her  strength  was  failing,  and  she  longed  to 
see  her  darling  once  more.  Mohendro,  though 
he  would  not  have  allowed  any  one  else  even  to 
mention  Prosonno's  name  to  him,  (so  bitter  was 
his  feeling  against  the  poor  boy),  was  so  accus- 
tomed to  treat  his  mother  with  deference,  and  to 
accede  to  all  her  wishes,  that  he  immediately  made 
arrangements  for  her  to  go  in  a  closed  palanquin 


THE  GRANDMOTHER'S  TALK  WITH  PROSONNO.  281 

to  the  house  of  an  intimate  friend  of  his,  whose 
family  she  was  accustomed  to  visit  in  this  way, 
and  who  lived  very  near  the  mission  station.  It 
would  have  been  out  of  the  question  to  allow  her 
to  go  to  the  station  itself;  for  a  visit  to  her  grand- 
son, in  his  Christian  home,  would  have  revived 
the  memory  of  the  disgrace,  the  shadow  of  which 
still  rested  on  his  family,  from  one  of  its  mem- 
bers having  become  a  Christian.  As  soon  as  she 
arrived  at  the  house,  she  sent  a  message  to  Pro- 
sonno  that  she  was  there,  waiting  to  receive  him, 
and  he  joyfully  obeyed  the  summons.  He  could 
hardly  express  his  delight  at  seeing  her  again. 
When  his  first  excitement  had  a  little  subsided, 
he  asked  eagerly — 

"  How  are  they  all  at  home  ?  My  father  and 
mother ;  and  my  beautiful  Kamiuee  ?  You  can- 
not think  how  I  miss  her  sweet  face  and  gentle 
ways." 

"  Your  father  and  mother  are  well,"  she  replied ; 
"and  so  is  Karninee;  though  of  late  she  has 
seemed  to  me  to  look  more  sad  and  anxious  than 
usual.  Oh  !  my  boy,  my  darling,  how  could  you 
leave  us?  How  can  you  live  like  this,  away 
from  us  ?H  ?" 


232  LIFE   BY   THE    GANGES. 

"  It  is  hard,"  rejoined  Prosouno,  "  and  I  often 
feel  very  sad  about  it ;  but  I  did  it  to  serve  a  God 
who  calls  Himself  our  Father,  who  promises  to 
comfort  us  as  a  tender  mother  would  comfort  her 
darling  child ;  and  who  has  made  Himself  known 
to  us  as  a  Sea  of  Love ;  and  He  does  help  and 
comfort  me." 

"  A  SEA  OF  LOVE  !"  repeated  the  grandmother, 
"  a  sea  of  love !  Yes,  those  are  the  very  words  I 
heard  so  long  ago  from  the  missionary,  when  he 
saved  my  child's  life  at  Saugor,  and  gave  your 
father  the  book  I  gave  you.  But  he  told  me 
something  else  about  some  One  who  has  made  an 
atonement  for  our  sins.  What  was  that  ?" 

Prosonno  had  heard  his  grandmother  relate  to 
his  uncle  Rajendro,  how  his  life  had  been  saved 
on  Saugor  Island  by  the  interference  of  sepoys ; 
but  she  had  never  mentioned  the  missionary  or 
the  Testament  he  had  given  her ;  and  Prosonno 
had  often  wondered  how  the  book  which  had  been 
such  a  comfort  to  him  had  come  into  her  posses- 
sion. Now  his  face  beamed  with  joy,  as  he  replied, 
"The  missionary  must  have  told  you  of  Jesus 
Christ.  He  is  the  Son  of  God,  and  so  great  was 
His  love  to  us,  that  He  willingly  bore  the  punish- 


THE  GRANDMOTHER'S  TALK  WITH  PROSONNO.  233 

ment  that  our  sins  deserved ;  and  now,  if  we  trust 
in  Him  and  obey  Him,  He  will  make  us  happy 
with  Him  forever  in  heaven." 

"  Yes,  yes,  that  was  it,"  exclaimed  the  grand- 
mother. "  What  wonderful  love !  But  you  said 
we  are  to  live  in  heaven  forever.  Then  do  not 
you  expect  ever  to  return  to  the  earth  in  some 
other  form  of  existence,  as  the  Shastras  say  we 
shall?" 

"No,  no,"  answered  Prosonno.  "The  book 
you  gave  me  says  that  those  who  once  enter  hea- 
ven shall  go  no  more  out.  They  shall  be  forever 
with  the  Lord,  who  died  for  them.  They  shall 
see  His  face,  and  rejoice  in  his  love;  and  the 
heaven  where  they  shall  live  exceeds  in  beauty 
anything  that  we  have  ever  seen  or  heard  of,  or 
that  we  can  even  imagine." 

"  Those  are  beautiful  words,"  said  his  grand- 
mother ;  "  but  tell  me,  my  boy,  how  do  you  live 
here  ?  "Who  supports  you  ?" 

"The  missionaries  do  at  present,"  answered 
Prosonno,  "till  I  can  get  my  own  living.  Aa 
soon  as  my  studies  are  finished,  I  shall  receive  a 
salary,  just  enough  to  live  on,  that  I  may  spend 
all  my  time,  telling  every  one  who  will  listen  to 


234  LIFE   BY    THE   GANGES. 

me  of  the  wonderful  love  we  were  talking  of  just 
now." 

"  And  how  do  you  spend  your  time  now  ?" 

"In  study  chiefly,  as  I  did  when  I  was  at 
home;  and  in  spare  hours  I  visit  my  Christian 
friends." 

"Have  you  many  friends?"  asked  his  grand- 
mother. 

"Yes,"  answered  Prosonno,  "all  the  Christian 
Baboos  here  are  very  kind  to  me;  especially  my 
friend  Rdm  Doyal,  whose  conversation  first  led 
me  to  think  of  Christianity,  and  the  missionary 
and  his  wife,  who  live  in  that  large  white  house 
over  there;  they  are  living  in  this  country,  away 
from  their  relations  and  friends,  for  the  love  of 
Christ,  so  they  understand  something  of  what  I 
feel.  Oh!  if  all  of  you  at  home  only  knew  that 
love!  Tell  Kaminee,  if  she  will  hear  you,  how 
I  long  and  pray  that  she  may  know  it,  and  how 
often  I  think  of  her,  and  long  to  have  her  with 
me." 

"Yes.  I  will  tell  her.  But  I  must  go  now. 
Your  father  would  not  like  me  to  be  longer  away 
from  home.  Good-bye,  my  boy.  Whatever  the 
others  at  home  may  think  of  you,  remember  I 


THE  GRANDMOTHER'S  FAILING  HEALTH.  23.5 

always  loved  you,  and  mentioned  your  name  with 
vows  in  my  poojas  every  day.  May  the  goda 
send  you  all  success  and  prosperity !" 

Prosonno  returned  his  grandmother's  salutation, 
and  sad,  yet  comforted,  he  saw  her  return  home. 

The  grandmother  after  this  visit  began  to  feel 
her  strength  declining,  and  cared  less  and  less  for 
the  little  events  occurring  around  her.  Kaminee 
saw  this  with  concern,  for  she  was  sincerely  at- 
tached to  THAKOOE  MA;  and  of  late  she  had 
been  especially  drawn  to  her,  as  she  was  the  only 
one  in  the  house  who  would  speak  kindly  of  her 
husband.  She  had  received  his  message  from 
her  on  the  day  of  the  visit,  and  since  then  had 
grown  more  thoughtful  and  anxious  than  ever, 
though  she  never  seemed  inclined  to  talk  to  any 
one  of  what  was  passing  in  her  mind. 

As  time  went  on,  the  grandmother's  weakness 
increased,  and  she  was  soon  glad  to  leave  all  the 
little  household  occupations,  with  which  she  was 
accustomed  to  busy  herself,  to  the  younger  women, 
while  she  passed  most  of  her  time  in  quietness  or 
in  sleep,  till  she  was  no  longer  able  to  rise  from 
her  bed.  Kaminee  and  Shoudaminee  were  then 
in  constant  attendant  e  on  her  and  were  most 


236  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

dutiful  in  their  attentions.  Sometimes  she  v»ould 
question  them  as  to  the  little  news  they  had  heard 
during  thediy,  or  ask  about  the  children;  but 
oftener  she  would  lie  still,  with  her  eyes  closed, 
as  they  thought,  asleep.  On  one  of  these  occa- 
sions, after  lying  in  this  war  for  some  time,  she 
opened  her  eyes,  and  seeing  Kaminee  and  Shou- 
daminee  sitting  beside  her,  she  said,  "Kaminee, 
did  your  husband  ever  speak  to  you  about  One 
who  made  an  atonement  for  our  sins?"  Shou- 
daminee  heard  the  question,  and  said  in  a  whis- 
per to  Kaminee,  "Her  mind  must  be  wandering, 
from  her  being  so  weak.  Perhaps  she  is  feverish. 
Shall  I  bathe  her  head?"  She  rose,  and  was  go- 
ing for  some  water,  when  the  grandmother,  who 
had  heard  the  whisper,  said,  "No,  my  daughter, 
my  mind  is  quite  clear;  stay  and  hear  what  I 
have  to  say." 

Shoudaminee  came  near  to  her,  and  she  repeated 
her  question  to  Kaminee. 

"Yes,"  replied  Kaminee,  "he  told  me  that  and 
many  other  strange  things  about  a  new  religion 
he  has  found.  I  suppose,  now,  it  must  have  been 
Christianity." 

"  Y'js,  it  was,"  answered  the  grandmother.     "I 


HER   BELIEF   IN   THE    GOSPEL.  237 

wish  I  knew  more  about  it;  but  this  one  thing 
about  the  atonement  I  know,  because  he  told  me 
about  it;  and  the  missionary  told  me  the  same 
long  ago.  It  was  the  Son  of  God  who  did  it,  be- 
cause He  loved  us." 

"That  is  what  the  Christians  believe,"  said 
Shoudaminee ;  "  but  we  know  it  cannot  be  true." 

"But  I  think  it  must  be  true;  I  have  long 
thought  so,"  replied  the  grandmother,  earnestly. 
"I  will  tell  you  why.  We  all  know  that  God 
has  made  us,  and  made  us  with  hearts  to  love. 
Now  this  religion  says  that  He  is  a  sea  of  love, 
and  that  His  Son  died  for  us,  purely  out  of  love, 
that  we  might  love  Him  and  be  His  servants  for- 
ever; yes,  even  after  death  never  more  to  return 
to  the  earth  in  any  form,  but  to  be  with  Him  for- 
ever in  heaven.  But  who  ever  thinks  of  loving 
Shiva  or  Yishnoo?" 

Kaminee  thought  for  a  few  minutes,  and  then 
said,  "But  how  can  you  call  that  a  religion 
of  love,  which  has  separated  your  grandson  from 
us  all,  and  makes  him  willing  to  live  away  from 
us?" 

"Is  it  Christianity  or  Hindooism  that  has  done 
that?"  replied  the  grandmother.  "Hindooism 


238  LIFE   BY    THE   GANGES. 

has  taught  his  family  to  try  to  forget  him,  or  to 
hate  him;  but  he  says  his  new  religion  has  made 
him  love  us  more  than  ever;  because  it  teaches 
him  that  the  Saviour,  who  saves  him,  loves  us, 
and  wishes  to  save  us  too,  if  we  would  only  ask 
Him  to  do  it.  I  should  like  to  know  if  He 
would  save  me.  Often  during  the  last  few  days, 
when  you  thought  I  was  asleep,  I  have  been 
praying  to  Him  to  save  me  if  He  will." 

Then  after  a  pause,  she  added,  earnestly,  "Yes, 
I  will  trust  in  Him.  I  do  love  Him  for  His 
great  love  to  me." 

Shoudaminee  was  startled  by  this  sudden  con- 
fession. That  the  Thakoor  Ma,  whom  she  had 
always  been  accustomed  to  treat  with  so  much 
respect,  should  have  said  such  things  as  she  had 
just  heard,  seemed  to  her  perfectly  dreadful. 
She  was  afraid  to  hear  more,  so  she  said  gently : 

"Thakoor  Ma,  don't  talk  any  more  now;  you 
are  not  strong  enough.  Try  to  sleep  a  little." 

So  saying,  she  left  the  room,  to  quiet  her  child, 
who  had  awoke  from  its  sleep  and  was  crying; 
but  Kaminee  remained  a  moment  longer  to  ask, 
"Could  I  find  out  any  more  about  this  new  religion 


KAMINEE    READS   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT.    239 

you  seem  to  like  so  much?  I  should  like  to  know 
more  of  it/'* 

"I  cannot  tell  you  more,"  replied  the  grand- 
mother; "but  your  husband  left  some  of  his 
Christian  books  with  me,  in  the  hope  that  some 
of  his  family  might  read  them  at  some  time. 
You  will  find  them  in  the  large  box  in  the 
corner  of  that  empty  room,  next  to  mine.  There 
is  the  key,  I  hope  you  may  think  about  them  as 
I  do." 

Just  then  Mohendro's  wife  came  in  to  inquire 
after  her  mother-in-law,  and  Kaminee,  her  mind 
full  of  strange,  new  thoughts,  was  glad  to  escape 
to  the  solitude  of  her  own  room. 

As  soon  as  she  was  alone,  she  said  to  herself, 
"  How  strange  that  the  Thakoor  Ma  should  be- 
lieve this  religion,  when  she  has  heard  so  little  of 
it.  I  half  wish  it  were  true.  It  must  be  very 
happy  to  believe,  as  the  Christians  do,  in  the  love 
of  God.  No  one  will  see  me  now,  I  will  go  and 
get  the  books  she  told  me  of." 

So  saying,  she  went  to  the  room  her  grand- 
mother had  indicated;  and,  finding  the  books, 
returned  with  them  carefully  hidden  in  the  fold* 
of  her  robe  to  her  own  chambei 


240  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

That  night  Kaminee  slept  but  little.  Instead 
of  retiring  to  rest  at  her  usual  hour,  she  seated 
herself  by  a  dim  light,  to  read  her  husband's  NEW 
TESTAMENT.  She  began  at  the  beginning,  with 
the  wonderful  story  of  the  birth  of  Christ;  of 
the  wise  men  who  came  from  far  to  see  and  wor- 
ship Him,  guided  by  the  bright  star  in  the  east ; 
and  so  fascinated  was  she  by  the  simple  story  that 
she  read  eagerly  page  after  page.  It  was  far  on 
in  the  night  before  she  thought  of  sleep;  and 
when  at  last  she  did  stop  in  her  reading,  it  was 
with  a  serious  resolve  that  she  would  not  let  her 
mind  rest  till  it  rested  in  the  truth. 

Many  days  and  nights  passed  in  this  way,  the 
days  being  spent  beside  the  aged  grandmother, 
and  long  hours  in  the  night  poring  over  the  New 
Testament.  The  more  Kaminee  read,  the  more 
she  was  fascinated  and  attracted  by  the  new  reli- 
gion. Its  wonderful  purity,  and  the  noble  spirit 
of  disinterested  self-sacrifice,  of  love  and  kind- 
ness to  all  men,  that  it  continually  inculcated, 
were  entirely  new  to  her ;  and  she  could  not  help 
acknowledging  in  the  depths  of  her  heart,  how 
infinitely  superior  these  were  to  anything  she  had 
ever  learned  from  Hindooism.  And  as  each  night 


THE  GRANDMOTHER'S  LAST  HOURS.      241 

found  her  returning  to  her  new-found  treasure, 
the  wish  was  growing  in  her  heart,  more  and 
more  strong,  though  she  was  afraid  to  confess  it 
to  herself,  that  she  might  find  this  new  and  beau- 
tiful religion  to  be  indeed  the  true  one. 

One  day,  while  she  was  in  this  state  of  mind, 
when  she  went  to  see  her  grandmother,  she  per- 
ceived a  change  in  her  appearance.  It  was  evident 
she  was  sinking  fast ;  and  all  who  looked  on  her, 
could  see  plainly  that  she  had  not  many  hours  to 
live.  Now  and  then  her  mind  seemed  to  be 
wandering;  but  as  Kaminee  approached  and  spoke 
to  her,  a  pleasant  smile  on  her  features  showed 
that  she  recognized  her,  and  she  said  faintly : 

"Stay  beside  me;  let  me  see  you  as  long  as  I 
can  see  anything." 

Kaminee  seated  herself  beside  her,  and  busied 
herself  in  all  the  little  offices  of  love  that  could 
soothe  her  grandmother's  last  hours.  Indeed,  all 
the  members  of  the  family  were  constantly  in  ner 
room  that  day,  for  the  Thakoor  Ma,  besides  the 
respect  that  was  due,  had  won  the  love  of  the 
whole  household  by  her  good  temper  and  ner 
kindness  to  them  all. 

Chondro  Kumar,  who  was  now  the  eldest  son 

16 


242  LIFE    BY    THE    GANGES. 

of  the  house,  had  gone  to  summon  the  Brahmin 
priests  to  perform  the  religious  ceremonies  for 
the  dying,  while  the  other  members  of  the  family 
awaited,  in  gloomy  silence,  the  solemnization  of 
the  last  rites. 

The  grandmother  spoke  very  little  to  any  one. 
Now  and  then  she  would  address  a  question  to 
Kaminee;  but  the  greater  part  of  the  time,  those 
around  her  could  see  her  lips  move,  though  no 
one  heard  what  she  said.  Once  Kaminee  bent 
over  her  and  said : 

"Thakoor  Ma,  were  you  asking  for  anything? 
Can  I  do  anything  for  you?"  She  answered, 
faintly,  "No  one  can  do  anything  for  me  now, 
but  the  SON  OP  GOD  ;  I  was  praying  to  Him  to 
help  and  save  me."  These  words  were  spoken  so 
low,  that  only  Kaminee  could  catch  their  mean- 
ing ;  but  as  she  heard  them,  she  almost  envied  her 
grandmother,  and  felt  for  a  moment  as  though  she 
would  gladly  change  places  with  her,  to  have, 
instead  of  her  own  troubled  thoughts,  the  peace 
and  rest  which  she  enjoyed  in  trusting  in  her  new- 
found Saviour.  She  continued  her  sad  watch, 
which  she  could  see  was  now  fast  drawing  to  a 
close;  but  the  grandmother  spoke  once  again. and 


CEREMONIES  AFTER  HER  DEATH.     243 

this  time  they  all  heard  the  words,  "O  JJESUS 
CHRIST,  Thou  Son  of  God,  who  didst  die  for  my 
sins,  take  me  to  be  with  Thee  in  Thy  heaven." 

Kaminee's  heart  joined  in  the  prayer;  and  so 
ausorbed  was  she  in  her  own  thoughts,  that  she 
did  not  see  the  startled  look  of  surprise  on  all  the 
faces  round  her ;  but  the  opportune  entrance  of 
the  priests  at  that  moment  prevented  any  remark 
being  made  on  the  subject. 

As  soon  as  they  entered,  one  of  them  began 
repeating  a  prayer,  while  Mohendro  gently  lifted 
his  mother  from  her  bed,  to  a  couch  made  of  kusa 
grass,  which  had  been  placed  ready  beside  it. 
The  priest  then  inquired  if  she  were'  able  to  give 
the  offerings  of  cattle  or  money  always  made  by 
dying  persons  to  priests,  as  their  last  conscious 
act;  but  she  lay  on  the  couch  quite  insensible, 
breathing  gently.  Her  last  act  of  consciousness 
had  been  that  prayer  to  the  Saviour  whom  she 
had  learned  to  trust.  Mohendro,  who  pretended 
not  to  have  heard  it,  replied  that  he  would  offer 
the  gifts  in  her  name ;  and  gave  a  magnificent 
offering  of  money,  such  as  befitted  his  wealth  and 
his  dignity  as  a  priest  on  such  a  solemn  occasion. 

When  this  ceremony  was  performed,  Mohendro 


244  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

proceeded  to  sprinkle  her  head  with  Granges  wa- 
ter; but  before  it  could  be  brought,  she  had  gently 
breathed  her  last.  As  soon  as  the  women  heard 
that  she  was  dead,  they  uttered  cries  of  lamenta- 
tion, and  went  on  for  a  long  time  weeping  and 
wailing  most  loudly. 

When  their  excitement  had  a  little  subsided, 
the  old  woman's  sister,  and  her  daughter-in-law, 
Mohendro's  wife,  sprinkled  the  Ganges  water  on 
her  head.  They  then  washed  the  corpse,  and 
adorned  the  bed  whereon  it  lay  with  wreaths  of 
flowers.  When  this  was  done,  they  covered  it 
with  a  white  cloth,  dipped  in  oil,  which  had  been 
perfumed  with  otto  of  sandal-wood ;  while  Mo- 
hendro,  his  younger  brother  Rajendro,  and  his 
two  sons,  Chondro  and  Nobo,  prepared  to  carry  it 
to  the  river-side,  where  the  body  was  to  be  burned. 
Rajendro's  two  sons  took  each  two  vessels,  in 
which  were  food  and  fire,  with  which  they  were 
to  precede  the  corpse  on  its  way  to  its  destination. 
The  priests  followed  ;  and  thus  the  procession  took 
its  way  through  the  most  unfrequented  parts  of 
the  town  to  the  place  of  burning,  amid  the  loud 
wailings  and  lamentations  of  the  women,  who, 


CEREMONIES  AFTER  DEATH.       245 

with  all  this  ostentatious  show  of  mourning,  felt 
real  sorrow,  for  they  had  all  loved  her. 

When  they  reached  the  bank  of  the  river,  they 
set  down  gei  tly  on  the  ground  the  light  couch 
on  which  the  corpse  had  been  carried,  with  the 
head  towards  the  south,  and  then  went  down  into 
the  river  to  bathe.  Their  ablutions  finished, 
Chondro  and  Nobo,  as  soon  as  they  had  found  a 
suitable  spot,  began  to  collect  wood  for  the  fu- 
neral pile.  When  it  was  ready,  Mohendro  took 
the  body  of  his  mother  in  his  arms,  bathed  it  in 
the  river,  and  rubbed  over  it  saffron  and  sandal- 
wood,  repeating  the  names  of  the  holy  mountains, 
of  Gunga  and  the  other  seven  sacred  rivers,  and 
those  of  the  four  oceans.  When  this  ceremony 
was  completed,  he  dressed  the  body  in  new  clothes, 
and  placed  it  gently  on  the  funeral  pile,  which 
the  young  men  had  been  busily  decorating  with 
flowers  and  garlands.  Mohendro  then  took  a 
torch  in  his  hand,  and  after  again  invoking  the 
holy  places,  "May  the  gods  with  flaming  mouths 
burn  this  corpse." 

After  this  prayer,  he  walked  round  the  pile, 
with  his  right  hand  towards  it;  then  dropping  his 
left  knee  to  the  ground,  he  applied  the  fire  to  it, 


246  LIFE    BY   THE    GANGES. 

and  to  the  mouth  of  the  corpse,  while  the  prieste 
recited  these  words:  "O  Fire,  may  she  be  repro- 
duced from  thee,  that  she  may  attain  the  region 
of  celestial  bliss.  May  this  offering  be  auspi- 
cious !" 

The  whole  party  then  walked  in  procession 
round  the  pile,  each  throwing  fresh  pieces  of  wood 
on  the  fire,  saying,  "Salutation  to  thee,  who  dost 
consume  flesh!" 

When  the  body  was  burnt,  they  again  walked 
in  procession  round  the  pile,  this  time  with  their 
left  hands  toward  it,  and  their  faces  carefully 
turned  away  from  the  fire.  After  this  they  pro- 
ceeded to  the  river  and  bathed  in  it,  offering  the 
prayer,  "Waters,  purify  us!"  and  then  made  the 
usual  offering  of  water  to  the  spirit  of  the  departed 
one. 

They  now  changed  their  clothes,  and  seated 
themselves  on  the  grass,  at  a  little  distance  from 
the  burning  place,  to  rest;  while  they  sought  con- 
solation in  repeating  sentences  on  the  shortness 
and  vanity  of  human  life,  such  as  these: — 

"  Foolish  is  he  who  seeks  permanence  in  the 
human  state;  unsolid  like  the  stem  of  the  plan- 
tain tree;  transient  like  the  foam  of  the  sea." 


CEREMONIES  AT  THE  HOUSE.       247 

"The  earth  is  perishable;  the  oceans,  the  gods 
themselves  pass  away;  how  shall  not  that  bubble, 
mortal  man,  meet  destruction  ?" 

"  All  that  is  low  must  finally  perish ;  all  that  is 
elevated  must  ultimately  fall.  All  compound 
bodies  must  end  in  dissolution,  and  life  is  con- 
cluded with  death." 

The  party  remained  by  the  river-side  during 
the  whole  of  the  day;  and  towards  evening,  took 
their  way  home,  Mohendro  carrying  a  new  earthen 
jar  full  of  water,  and  the  rest  walking  in  proces- 
sion, led  by  Rajendro's  youngest  son,  as  he  was 
the  youngest  among  them,  while  one  of  the  priests 
walked  on  in  front  bearing  a  thick  staff  in  his 
hand,  with  which  he  was  supposed  to  frighten 
away  ghosts  and  evil  spirits.  When  they  reached 
the  door  of  their  own  house,  Mohendro,  after 
purifying  a  spot  of  ground,  by  washing  it  with  a 
brush,  made  of  kusa  grass,  dipped  in  water, 
erected  on  it  a  small  altar  of  earth,  covered  it  and 
the  ground  all  round  it  with  kusa  grass,  and  then 
proceeded  to  prepare  a  funeral  cake,  made  of 
boiled  rice,  teela-seed,  honey,  milk,  butter,  and 
sugar,  which  he  laid  on  the  altar  with  these 
words : — 


248  <        LIFE    BY    THE    GANGES. 

"O  mother,  may  this  first  funeral  cake  which 
shall  restore  thy  head,  be  acceptable  to  thee!" 

Then  purifying  the  spot  again  in  the  feani( 
manner  as  before,  he  placed  some  flowers,  a  lighted 
lamp,  betel  leaves,  and  an  earthen  vessel  contain- 
ing teela-seed  and  water,  with  a  roll  of  woolen 
cloth,  beside  the  cake,  as  offerings  to  the  departed 
spirit,  saying,  "May  these  things  be  acceptable 
to  thee;"  after  which  they  all  entered  the  house. 

For  ten  days  the  mourning  for  the  Thakoor  Ma 
lasted.  During  this  time,  none  of  the  family 
tasted  any  food  during  the  day,  but  partook  of 
one  meal  at  night.  This  meal  consisted  only  of 
such  things  (destitute  of  all  seasoning)  as  they 
could  procure  ready  for  eating,  as  no  cooking 
must  go  on  in  the  house.  The  men  refrained 

O 

from  shaving  and  smoking;  the  women  went 
without  their  ornaments,  and  neglected  one  of 
their  favorite  employments,  that  of  braiding  and 
plaiting  their  long  luxuriant  hair.  Every  one 
was  gloomy  and  silent,  and  even  the  daily  poojas, 
which  nothing  else  could  interfere  with,  were  sus- 
pended. During  the  ten  days,  funeral  cakes  were 
offered  by  Mohendro,  in  the  same  way  as  on  the 
first  day;  the  number  being  increased  each  day 


FINAL   CEREMONIES.  249 

According  to  the  number  of  days.  Tnese  cakes 
were  supposed  each  to  restore  some  part  of  the 
renewed  body  of  the  departed  one.  On  the  morn- 
ing of  the  tenth  day,  he  offered  ten  funeral  cakes, 
saying  these  words,  "May  this  tenth  cake,  which 
shall  fully  satisfy  the  hunger  and  thirst  of  thy 
renewed  body,  be  acceptable  to  thee !" 

After  this  another  ceremony  was  to  be  per- 
formed, that  of  gathering  the  ashes  of  the  funeral 
pile,  which  had  been  carefully  preserved  at  the 
burning  place  for  the  purpose.  After  various 
offerings  of  food  and  water  to  the  departed  spirit, 
the  priests  who  were  assembled  to  assist  in  this 
rite,  recited  prayers,  after  which  all  the  priests 
were  invited  to  partake  of  a  sumptuous  feast,  and 
Mohendro  gave  a  large  sum  of  money  to  the  prin- 
cipal Brahmin,  as  a  fee  for  fully  completing  the 
obsequies  performed  in  honor  of  his  mother. 

The  priests  then  offered  another  prayer,  after 
which  all  the  men  of  the  family  accompanied 
them  to  the  burning  place.  On  arriving  there, 
the  whole  party  invoked  the  deities  of  the  place, 
by  offerings  of  various  kinds  of  food,  water, 
wreaths  of  flowers,  and  incense,  while  Mohendro 
repeated  the  words,  "  Salutation  to  the  fods,  whose 


250  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

mouths  are  devouring  fire !"  He  then  repaired  to 
the  place  where  the  bones  of  the  dead  were  con- 
cealed, sprinkled  them  with  various  perfumes,  and 
put  them  in  a  kind  of  casket  made  of  leaves. 
This  he  placed  in  a  new  earthen  vessel,  which  he 
carefully  closed  with  a  lid,  and  tied  up  with  strong 
thread.  Then  choosing  a  clean  spot,  where  he 
thought  encroachments  of  the  river  were  not  likely 
to  take  place,  he  dug  a  deep  hole,  the  bottom  of 
which  he  lined  carefully  with  kusa  grass.  He 
then  placed  the  earthen  pot  in  the  hole,  and  co- 
vered it  with  earth,  thorns,  and  moss.  After 
some  time  had  elapsed,  he  would  again  visit  the 
spot,  throw  the  ashes  of  the  funeral  pile  into  the 
river,  and  fill  up  with  earth  the  excavation  where 
they  had  rested.  Now  the  whole  party  bathed  in 
the  river,  put  on  clean  clothes,  and  had  themselves 
shaved.  They  then  returned  home,  and,  according 
to  Hindoo  ritual,  were  considered  purified. 

As  for  Kaminee,  she  was  glad  in  her  heart 
when  these  ceremonies  were  over.  They  wearied 
her,  and  seemed  to  her  more  useless  and  vain  than 
ever.  She  read  every  night  of  those  ten  days  of 
mourning  in  the  Testament,  and  had  lingered 
long,  thinking  an  \  wondering,  over  the  Christian 


CONVERSATION   WITH   NOBO.  251 

doctrine  of  the  Resurrection.  She  longed  to  know 
what  was  truth,  and  what  was  error.  She  was 
beginning  to  love  the  religion  she  was  learning 
about ;  but  what  if  it  should  be  false  and  mistaken 
after  all  ?  She  thought  and  thought,  but  her 
thought  seemed  only  to  grow  troubled  and  con- 
fused. She  determined  to  question  Nobo,  and  try 
if  he  could  satisfy  her  mind  on  the  subject.  So 
one  day,  when  he  had  finished  dinner,  while  she 
was  in  a  small  room  preparing  his  paun,  (a  prep- 
aration of  areca-nut,  mace,  and  other  spices,  wrapt 
in  a  piece  of  betel-leaf,  of  which  the  Hindoos  are 
very  fond),  and  he  was  standing  by  one  of  the 
pillars  in  the  verandah,  waiting  for  it,  after  look- 
ing cautiously  round,  to  see  that  there  was  no  one 
near  and  likely  to  overhear  their  conversation, 
she  began,  "Nobo,  have  you  not  read  some  Eng- 
lish books  about  the  reasons  Christians  have  for 
believing  their  religion  to  be  the  true  one?  I 
wish  you  would  tell  me  some  of  those  reasons." 

"  Why,  sister !"  exclaimed  Nobo,  "what  have 
you  got  into  your  head  now?  You  could  not 
understand  them  if  I  did  tell  you." 

"Yes,  I  could,  I  am  sure  I  could;  I  wish  you 
would  tell  me  them,  Nobo." 


252  LIFE    BY    THE    GANGES. 

"I  tell  you,  indeed!  surely  one  in  the  family 
believing  that  nonsense  is  enough.  It  brought 
us  trouble  enough  at  any  rate.  Besides,  what 
business  can  a  woman  have  with  such  ques- 
tions? I  see  how  it  is.  You  are  tired  of  your 
household  duties,  which  are  a  woman's  proper 
calling." 

"  No,  indeed ;  I  do  quite  as  much  as  Shouda- 
minee  or  Nistarinee ;  but  Nobo,  none  of  my  occu- 
pations need  my  thoughts,  and  a  woman  can  think, 
you  know.  I  have  been  thinking  a  great  deal 
lately  about  Christianity ;  that  is,  ever  since  the 
Thakoor  Ma  went  to  see  your  brother.  Nobo, 
what  if  it  should  be  true  after  all  ?" 

Nobo  was  startled  by  the  sudden  earnestness 
with  which  she  said  this,  but  he  said  quietly — 

"Well,  sister,  and  what  are  your  reasons  for 
thinking  it  might  be  true?" 

"Why,  I  have  been  thinking  about  what  the 
Thakoor  Ma  said  your  brothei  told  her,  about  its 
being  all  a  religion  of  love.  The  love  of  God 
gave  it  to  us,  and  the  essence  of  it  in  us  is  love  to 
Him.  In  that  it  seems  to  be  just  wrhat  we  want, 
at  least  I  want  it.  Your  grandmother  is  dead, 
ind  your  brother  is  worse  than  dead  to  me.  I 


KAMINEE'S  CONVERSATION  WITH  NOBO.   253 

have  no  one  here  left  to  love;  but  I  could  love 
the  God  of  the  Christians,  even  from  the  little  I 
have  heard  about  Him." 

"A  woman's  reason,  truly/'  said  Nobo,  smiling, 
"  which  springs  only  from  feeling.  But,  after  all, 
that  is  not  PROOF." 

"But  I  have  thought  of  another  reason,"  said 
Kaminee,  earnestly.  "  It  is  this.  We  agree  even 
with  Christians  in  thinking  that  religion  is  a  pure 
and  holy  thing,  and  if  so,  it  must  have  a  purify- 
ing influence;  for  if  a  tree  be  good,  its  fruit  will  be 
good.  Now  Hindooism  consists  only  in  forms  and 
ceremonies;  the  heart  is  left  untouched.  I  thought 
of  this  especially  when  Surjo  wanted  the  priests 
to  perform  the  ceremony  of  atonement  for  your 
brother.  Offering  cowrie-shells  and  giving  money 
to  Brahmins  could  never  have  made  him  a  Hindoo 
in  heart  again;  and  yet  it  would  have  restored 
him  to  caste,  and  all  the  privileges  of  Hindooism. 
But  Christianity,  because  love  to  a  holy  Saviour 
is  its  spring,  purifies  the  heart.  Your  brother 
told  me  that  the  last  time  I  saw  him." 

"My  brother,  indeed!"  said  Nobo,  bitterly 
"A  vile  Christian  outcast,  my  brother!"  But 
seeing  a  shade  come  over  Kamiuee's  sweet  face, 


254  LIFE    BY   THE    GANGES. 

and  her  eyes  fill  with  tears,  he  added  more 
gently — 

"Don't  cry,  sister;  I  did  not  mean  to  grieve 
you;  good-bye,  I  am  going  out  nmv.  Don't 
trouble  your  head  with  subjects  you  cannot  under- 
stand." So  saying  he  left  her,  and  went  out  of 
the  house. 

Kaminee  had  complained  that  there  was  no  one 
left  for  her  to  love;  but  she  forgot  at  the  moment 
her  sister-in-law  Shoudaminee;  and  very  soon  her 
loving  nature  began  to  cling  to  her,  as  it  had 
clung  to  the  old  grandmother.  The  sisters  were 
practically  in  the  same  circumstance,  deprived  of 
their  husbands;  and  although  Kaminee  had  not 
to  endure  all  the  privations,  and  conform  to  all 
the  austerities  of  an  actual  widow,  her  life  was 
lonely  and  aimless  enough.  Another  bond  of 
union  between  them  was  the  memory  of  the 
grandmother's  illness  and  death.  They  would 
often  talk  together  of  her  last  strange  words,  and 
now  and  then  Kaminee  would  venture  to  tell  her 
sister  a  little  of  what  she  read  in  the  Testament 
about  the  new  religion  the  grandmother  had 
found  and  trusted  in.  Shoudaminee  would  listen 
attentively  sometimes,  because  she  saw  that  Kami- 


SHE  AGAIN  TALKS  WITH  NOBO.     255 

nee  liked  talking  of  these  things:  but  they  made 
very  little  impression  on  her  mind.  She  was  not 
accustomed  to  think  much  at  any  time,  and  when 
she  did,  the  care  of  her  children  and  her  house- 
hold duties  seemed  enough  to  occupy  her  whole 
thoughts.  However,  their  friendship,  such  as  it 
was,  grew  and  strengthened,  and  was  a  source  of 
great  comfort  to  both  the  sisters,  though  it  left 
Kaminee  as  much  alone  as  ever  in  her  new 
thoughts  and  feelings. 

After  the  way  in  which  Nobo  had  treated  the 
inquiries  she  had  ventured  to  make,  she  was  afraid 
to  ask  him  more  of  what  she  longed  to  know,  and 
this  led  her,  timidly  at  first,  but  by  degrees  more 
and  more  confidently,  to  pray  to  the  Christian's 
God,  that  if  He  were  indeed  the  true  God,  He 
would  teach  her  what  was  the  true  religion.  At 
last,  however,  one  day,  she  summoned  up  courage 
to  speak  to  Nobo  again,  as  he  was  sitting  reading 
in  one  of  the  back  verandahs  of  the  house.  She 
came  up  to  him,  and  began  cautiously — 

"Nobo,  do  you  remember  advising  me  one  day 
not  to  think  of  things  I  could  not  understand! 
It  might  be  very  good  advice,  but  I  want  you  to 
tell  me  how  I  am  to  follow  it.  I  am  constantly 


256  LIFE   BY   THE    GANGES. 

thinking  of  what  I  have  heard  about  Christianity 
How  can  I  help  it?" 

"  Why,  sister,  you  should  be  the  last  to  ask  that 
question;  you  who  have  the  advantage  so  few 
women  have,  of  being  able  to  understand  the 
prayers  and  montros  of  our  religion.  Why  do 
you  not  study  and  repeat  them  more?  If  you 
must  think,  meditate  on  the  attributes  of  the 
gods ;  that  would  be  safe  thinking  for  you." 

"But  all  my  thinking  will  not  undo  the  wrong 
thoughts  I  have  had  about  them  already,  if  they 
are  wrong.  If  we  believe  that  the  gods  will  pun- 
ish those  who  offend  them,  and  then,  just  because 
they  choose,  they  say  'I  forgive  you,'  how  can  we 
expect  them  to  reward  those  who  are  good  and 
religious  like  your  father?  Now  your  brother 
told  me  that  the  Christian's  God  said  He  would 
punish  sin,  and  He  did  punish  it.  His  own  Son 
became  incarnate  to  bear  the  punishment  for  us; 
therefore  I  could  trust  him." 

"Well  done,  sister,"  said  Nobo,  laughing;  "you 
have  found  your  way  to  the  favorite  argument  of 
the  Christians.  But  how  could  you  trust  a  Being 
who  could  punish  the  innocent  for  the  guilty?" 

"Because  He  took  the  punishment  on  Himself, 


EFFOKT   TO   GET   HEMLOTA   MARRIED.        257 

of  His  own  free  will,  out  of  love  to  us.  If  He 
was  God,  it  could  not  have  been  laid  on  Him 
without  His  will  Besides,  He  said  so  Himself. 
I  have  read — " 

Here  Kaminee  suddenly  recollected  that  she 
was  betraying  her  secret,  and  looked  up  anxiously 
into  Nobo's  face,  fearing  lest  he  should  ask  her 
what  she  had  read;  but,  fortunately  for  her, 
her  father-in-law  appeared  at  that  moment,  and 
called  Nobo  away  to  talk  to  him  in  his  own  room. 

The  subject  on  which  Mohendro  wished  to  con- 
sult with  his  son  was  a  no  less  important  one  than 
the  marriage  of  his  little  daughter  Hemlota.  She 
was  now  between  seven  and  eight  years  of  age, 
when,  according  to  Hindoo  custom,  a  father  ought 
to  seek  a  bridegroom  for  his  daughter.  Chondro 
Kumar  was  very  little  comfort  to  the  old  man, 
so  that  Nobo  was  the  only  one  with  whom  he 
could  advise  on  matters  relating  to  the  family  in- 
terests. 

Nobo  agreed  that  it  was  quite  time  to  think  of 
the  marriage.  His  only  objection  was  the  fear 
that  his  father  would  not  have  money  enough  to 
meet  the  expenses  of  the  ceremony,  in  a  manner 
befitting  his  position. 
17 


258  LIFE   BY   THE    GANGES. 

"Leave  that  to  me,  my  boy,"  replied  Mohen- 
dro;  "the  family  honor  must  not  suffer  now,  after 
I  have  done  so  much  to  redeem  it.  Hemlota 
must  be  married;  and  as  for  the  money,  that  must 
go,  if  is  necessary.  If  it  was  written  on  my  fore- 
head that  my  house  should  come  to  poverty,  what 
can  I  do  against  my  fate?" 

"Yes,  indeed,"  said  Nobo,  "let  the  money  go 
if  needful;  little  Hemlota  will  be  delighted  with 
her  new  dignity,  and  with  the  jewels  you  will 
give  her." 

Then  followed  a  consultatiton  between  Mohen- 
dro  and  his  son,  as  to  the  number  and  costliness 
of  the  jewels  which  the  little  girl  was  to  receive; 
it  ended  by  Mohendro  saying — 

"I  shall  send  for  the  ghottok  to-morrow,  to 
look  out  for  a  bridegroom  from  some  respectable 
family,  and  to  make  all  the  needful  arrange- 
ments." 

The  way  in  which  marriages  are  made  among 
Hindoos  would  seem  very  strange  to  English 
readers.  When  a  father  wishes  to  get  his  daugh- 
ter married,  he  sends  for  a  ghottok  or  go-between. 
This  man  generally  belongs  to  the  lowest  class  of 
Brahmins,  and  his  business  is  to  introduce  the 


NOBO   RESISTS   HIS   CONVICTIONS.  259 

father  of  a  young  man,  who  wishes  his  son  to 
be  married,  to  the  father  of  one  who  wishes  to 
find  a  bridegroom  for  his  daughter.  If  the  fa- 
thers are  mutually  satisfied  with  the  connection,  the 
marriage  takes  place,  and  the  ghottok  receives  a 
handsome  present  in  money  from  both  families. 
That  evening  Mohendro  imparted  his  intention 
to  his  wife,  and  the  next  day  it  was  the  subject  of 
eager  conversation  among  the  women. 

While  Mohendro  and  the  rest  of  the  family 
were  engrossed  with  this  affair,  Nobo's  thoughts 
were  very  differently  engaged.  The  conversation 
he  had  held  with  Kaminee  had  not  escaped  from 
his  mind,  and  now  it  made  him  feel  troubled  and 
uneasy.  He  had  felt  unsettled  on  the  subject  of 
religion  ever  since  Prosonno's  baptism ;  but  he  was 
not  at  all  prepared  to  give  up  his  old  prejudices 
in  favor  of  Hindoo  customs,  or  to  make  the  sacri- 
fice that  his  brother  had  done;  so  he  tried  to 
dismiss  the  subject  altogether  from  his  thoughts. 
Now  it  came  back  to  him  with  fresh  force.  He 
had  been  putting  the  truth  away  from  him;  and 
here  was  a  woman,  with  little  or  no  teaching  as  it 
seemed  to  him,  with  nothing  but  her  woman's 
instinctive  sense  of  what  is  true  and  false  to  guide 


260  LIFE   BY   THE    GANGES. 

her,  feeling  her  way,  as  it  were,  gradually,  but 
surely,  to  the  arguments  that  proved  it  true.  He 
did  not  know  that  she  had  the  surest  of  all  teach- 
'ing,  even  the  teaching  of  Him  who  hides  His 
mysteries  "from  the  wise  and  prudent,  and  reveals 
them  unto  babes."  But  in  a  few  days,  two  events 
happened  to  turn  the  current  of  his  thoughts  in 
other  directions. 

The  ghottok  who  had  been  employed  to  look 
for  a  bridegroom  for  Hemlota,  in  a  short  time 
returned  to  say  that  he  had  hitherto  been  unsuc- 
cessful in  finding  one  whose  position  was  worthy 
of  Mohendro's  daughter,  and  he  feared  he  should 
remain  so.  He  had,  indeed,  heard  of  several 
young  men,  belonging  to  highly  respectable  Brah- 
min families,  but  they  had  all  heard  more  or  less 
exaggerated  accounts  of  Prosonno's  detention 
among  his  relatives :  and  all  were  doubtful  of  the 
caste  of  a  family  which  had  had  a  Christian  living 
among  them  for  some  weeks. 

In  vain  had  the  ghottok  protested  against  the 
possibility  of  a  blot  on  Mohendro's  caste,  and 
told  of  his  strict  austerities  and  constant  poojas, 
of  his  recent  pilgrimage,  and  the  large  sums  of 
money  he  had  spent  on  the  various  shrines  by  the 


THE   MARRIAGE-BROKER.  261 

way; — the  feeling  against  him  remained.  There 
were  daughters  of  other  families,  they  said,  whose 
caste  had  never  been  questioned,  and  they  pre- 
ferred that  their  sons  should  seek  wives  from 
such ;  so  that  the  poor  man  had  but  a  sad  story  to 
bring  to  his  employer. 

Mohendro  at  first  received  him  very  angrily, 
and  demanded  to  know  who  had  dared  to  call  in 
question  the  caste  of  a  priest  of  the  strictest  or- 
der; and  Nobo  had  to  use  all  the  arguments  he 
could  think  of,  to  appease  his  father's  indignation. 
At  last  the  old  man  gave  in,  saying  sadly — 

"Surjo  was  right  when  he  foresaw  this.  It  is 
my  fate.  What  can  I  do?  Well,  well,  we  can 
let  the  matter  rest  for  a  few  months,  and  then,  if 
necessary,  we  must  remove  to  some  distant  place, 
which  the  news  of  the  misfortunes  that  have  be- 
fallen our  family  has  not  reached." 

He  then  dismissed  the  ghottok  with  a  small 
present,  and  sorrowfully  betook  himself  to  the 
poojas  he  always  performed  at  that  hour. 

The  other  event  that  occasioned  some  excite- 
ment in  the  family,  was  that  Nobo  one  day  returned 
from  his  evening  walk  with  the  intelligence  that 
Prosonno  had  broken  a  blood-vessel,  and  was  very 


262  LIFE   B\    THE    GANGES. 

ill.  He  had  been  to  visit  at  the  house  where  the 
Thakoor  Ma  had  gone  to  see  Prosonno,  and  there 
he  had  heard  the  news.  On  hearing  it,  he  had 
gone  over  immediately  to  see  him,  for  he  had 
always  in  his  heart  retained  a  great  affection  for 
his  brother;  though  he  never  allowed  himself  to 
show  it  at  home,  for  fear  of  displeasing  his  father. 
He  told  the  family  that  he  had  found  Prosonno 
well  taken  care  of  bv  his  Christian  friends.  His 

^ 

chief  friend,  Ram  Doyal,  had  removed  him  to  his 
own  house ;  as  he  could  make  him  more  comfort- 
able there  than  in  his  own  little  room ;  and  his 
wife,  Suseela,  could  prepare  for  Prosonno  all  the 
little  dainties  he  had  been  accustomed  to  in  his 
own  home.  The  missionary  and  his  wife,  too, 
were  very  kind  to  him,  and  often  came  to  see  him; 
and  Prosonno  felt  and  acknowledged  their  kind- 
ness; though  in  moments  of  weakness,  when  his 
mind  wandered,  he  would  murmur  all  the  dear 
household  names  he  had  learnt  to  love  from 
shildhood.  His  mother  and  Kaminee  he  con- 
stantly called  for.  Nobo  went  on  to  say  that 
Prosonno  was  delighted  to  see  him,  and  sent  his 
love  and  remembrance  to  them  all,  and  would  not 
let  him  go  till  he  had  promised  tr  tell  Kaminee 


KAMINEE   DECIDES.  263 

that  he  still  prayed  that  he  might  see  her  again 
before  he  died. 

Kaminee  received  this  message  very  differently 
from  the  first  which  her  husband  had  sent  her. 
She  had  listened  eagerly  to  every  word  Nobo  had 
said,  and  now  quietly  went  to  her  own  room.  She 
could  not  trust  herself  to  speak ;  but  as  soon  as 
she  was  alone,  she  burst  into  tears,  and  wept  long 
and  bitterly.  At  last  a  thought  came  into  her 
mind  that  made  her  face  light  up  with  joy. 

"  Yes,"  she  said  to  herself,  "  I  can  do  it,  and  I 
will;  I  long  to  know  more  of  Christianity.  Oh, 
how  gladly  he  would  teach  me !  I  am  a  Christian 
in  my  heart;  I  constantly  pray  to  the  Christian's 
God.  Why  should  I  not  be  with  my  husband? 
And  he  is  ill,  too,  but  he  will  get  well  if  he  has 
me  to  love  him  and  care  for  him.  Yes,  I  will  go." 

And  Kaminee  lay  down  to  rest  that  night,  re- 
peating to  herself  some  words  she  had  read  in  one 
of  her  husband's  Christian  books — 

"Whither  thou  goest  I  will  go;  and  where 
thou  lodgest,  I  will  lodge.  Thy  people  shall  be 
my  people,  and  THY  GOD  MY  GOD." 


CHAPTER   'X. 

WHEN  Kaminee  awoke  the  next  morning, 
her  first  thoughts  turned  to  this  new  resolve 
to  join  her  husband.  She  went  over  the  matter 
again  and  again  in  her  own  mind,  and  each  time 
the  resolve  grew  stronger.  She  longed  to  talk  it 
over  with  some  one  in  the  house;  but  who  was 
there  whom  she  could  trust?  The  grandmother 
was  much  missed  in  the  family,  especially  by  her. 
The  woman's  side  of  the  house,  too,  was  unusually 
dull;  for  Nistarinee  had  persuaded  her  husband 
to  let  her  go  to  her  father's  house,  on  a  visit  of 
three  months,  and  she  was  not  to  return  till  after 
the  Durga  Pooja.*  After  considering  the  plan  in 
all  its  aspects  for  nearly  a  fortnight,  Kaminee 
ventured  to  impart  it  to  Shoudaminee.  One  day, 
when  they  were  sitting  in  the  verandah,  after 
having  finished  their  morning  work,  Kaminee 
said — 

"Do  you   know,  Shoudaminee,  I   have   been 

*  Doorga  Poojah,  a  g-eat  religious  festival  in  Bengal. 
264 


KAMINEE   TELLS   HER   WISH.  265 

• 

tiiinking  a  great  deal  about  the  Christian  religion 
that  your  brother-in-law  now  professes.  You 
know  he  told  Thakoor  Ma  something  of  it  that 
day  she  went  to  see  him,  and  she  told  me  what 
he  had  said.  She  also  gave  me  a  copy  of  the 
Christian  Shastres,  which  she  told  me  a  Padre* 
had  given  to  her  fifty  years  ago,  when  she  paid 
that  wonderful  visit  to  Gunga  Saugor.  She  gave 
this  book  to  her  grandson,  when  his  father  forbade 
him  to  read  it;  he  left  it  with  her  when  he  went 
away;  and  now  I  have  been  reading  it  myself." 

"Have  you?"  asked  Shoudaminee.  "I  have 
never  seen  you  read  it;  when  do  you  find  time?" 

"After  you  have  all  gone  to  sleep  at  night,  I 
get  out  my  book  and  read.  It  is  a  most  fasci- 
nating book ;  I  think  I  believe  a  great  deal  in  it 
aJ  ready." 

"Ah!"  said  Shoudaminee,  "what  would  our 
father-in-law  say  if  he  knew  you  were  courageous 
enough  to  read  that  book?  What  would  you  do, 
if  he  found  you  out?" 

"I  don't  know,"  said  Kaminee,  "but  I  love  to 
read  the  book ;  and  I  have  been  thinking  that  I 
should  like  to  become  a  Christian  myself." 

"  Become  a  Christian  yourself!"  returned  Shou- 


266  LIFE   BY  THE   GANGES. 

daminee;  "how  could  you  do  so?  Think  what 
you  would  have  to  give  up;  your  father  and 
mother,  brother  and  sisters;  you  would  lose  your 
caste  and  all  your  friends.  Now,  if  I  were  to 
become  a  Christian,  and  go  and  live  with  them, 
no  one  would  care.  I  am  an  orphan,  and  my 
only  brother  has  such  a  bad-tempered  wife  that  I 
should  never  mind  losing  them.  Gopal  and 
Komodinee  are  my  only  treasures  here." 

A  bright  thought  struck  Kaminee;  what  if 
Shoudaminee  would  go  with  her!  They  would 
manage  better  in  getting  away,  and  she  would 
take  care  that  her  sister-in-law  was  well  cared 
for.  She  was  longing  to  see  her  husband;  and  as 
she  had  said  so  much  to  Shoudaminee,  she  now 
determined  to  tell  her  the  whole  plan :  so  she  said, 
rather  timidly — 

"How  do  you  think  it  would  do,  sister  Shouda, 
if  we  were  both  to  go  to  the  Christians?  I  long 
to  learn  more  about  their  religion ;  and  you  know 
the  Baboo  has  been  ill;  and  I  am  sure  he  would 
like  me  to  go  and  nurse  him:  and  you  could  live 
with  us,  and  I  think  we  should  all  be  very  happy. 
I  must  go,  if  you  do  not." 

Shoudaminee  was  bewildered  by  the  thought. 


THEY    TALK    IT   OVER.  267 

"What  will  our  father-in-law  say?"  were  the  first 
words  she  uttered. 

But  the  more  she  thought  of  it,  the  pleasanter 
it  seemed.  The  idea  of  losing  Kaminee  alto- 
gether was  unbearable.  "Thakoor  Ma  dead! 
Kaminee  gone  to  the  Christians!  Nistarinee 
away  from  home!  What  would  their  part  of  the 
house  be  like?"  The  sisters  sat  long  together 
discussing  the  question.  Kaminee  could  not  wait 
many  days;  so  she  brought  the  conversation  to  a 
close  by  saying — 

"Well,  sister,  it  is  settled  that  we  go,  and  take 
Gopal  and  Komodinee  with  us:  I  will  see  to  the 
arrangements  about  our  going." 

Day  after  day  they  talked  together,  and  the  plan 
seemed  to  grow  more  feasible.  The  time  of  their 
consultation  was  the  hour  or  two  which  followed 
the  morning  meal.  Mohendro's  wife  then  gen- 
erally went  to  sleep;  and  Komodinee  and  Hem- 
lota  were  despatched  down-stairs  to  play.  They 
were  long,  however,  in  reaching  a  full  and  mature 
decision.  Shoudaminee  was  desirous  that  they 
should  manage  it  entirely  by  themselves:  Kam- 
inee did  not  see  how  that  could  be  done.  Her 
view  of  the  case  prevailed;  and  it  was  agreed 


268  ^IFE   BY   THE   GAN3E3. 

that  she  should  write  to  her  husband,  and  bril>e 
one  of  the  women-servants  to  take  the  letter. 

The  next  day  Kamiuee  called  one  of  them, 
named  Durgamonee,  into  her  private  room,  and 
asked  if  she  would  undertake  for  her  a  private 
errand  of  great  importance:  promising  that  she 
should  be  amply  rewarded,  provided  that  she  told 
the  matter  to  no  one  else.  The  woman,  partly 
by  hanging  back,  and  partly  by  skillful  question- 
ing, managed  to  learn  the  whole  scheme.  But 
Kaminee,  though  a  little  afraid  and  mortified 
that  her  entire  plans  were  in  the  power  of  a  third 
person,  felt  that  it  was  best  that  her  husband 
should  also  know  them  clearly.  She  ended  by 
drawing  from  her  jewel-box  a  massive  gold  brace- 
let which  was  to  be  the  reward  if  the  commission 
were  faithfully  executed.  That  afternoon  an  op- 
portunity occurred.  About  five  o'clock,  Mohen- 
dro's  wife,  who  was  cooking  her  husband's  even- 
ing meal,  asked  if  there  was  any  sugar  in  the 
house,  as  she  wished  to  make  some  cakes.  There 
was  none;  but  Durgamonee  offered  to  go  and  get 
some  from  the  bazaar.  The  mistress  agreed,  and 
further  suggested  that  she  should  go  to  a  partic- 
alar  shop  some  distance  on  and  buy  Gopal  some 


A  LETTER  SENT  TO  PROSONNO.      269 

sweetmeats  called  Sondesh.  "Don't  be  out  after 
dark,"  she  said,  "and  make  the  shopman  give  the 
sugar  cheap."  Durgamonee  ran  quickly  to  her 
young  mistress. 

"Now  is  the  time,"  she  said;  "give  me  your 
letter."  The  letter  was  given ;  and  Kaminee  sat 
down  in  her  own  room  in  some  excitement  to 
reflect  on  what  she  had  done.  A  half-prayer  rose 
to  the  God  whose  religion  she  would  soon  profess, 
that  He  would  help  her  scheme ;  and  would  make 
all  things  straight  for  them,  as  He  had  done  for 
her  husband. 

In  the  meantime,  Durgamonee  went  out  and 
walked  about  rather  idly  in  the  bazaar,  wondering 
at  this  new  freak  of  the  younger  women  in  the 
house.  "But  what  does  it  matter  to  me/'  she 
thought,  "  the  bracelet  is  to  be  mine,  if  I  do  my 
work  well.  It  will  make  my  fortune :  but  I  must 
be  quick,  or  the  darkness  will  catch  me  before  I 
get  home." 

The  sugar  and  sweetmeats  were  bought  after  a 
full  half-hour's  bargaining;  and  then  she  pro- 
ceeded to  the  missionary  station,  eating  one  of  the 
sondeshes  by  the  way.  If  her  mistress  thought 
that  they  w^re  rather  few,  she  had  only  to  say 


270  LIFE   BY   THE    GANGES. 

that  the  shop-keeper  was  a  hard  man,  that  she 
was  afraid  of  the  sun  setting,  and  could  not  stay 
to  argue  the  matter  to  the  end ! 

O 

The  missionary  station  was  soon  discovered  by 
a  large  building  at  the  side  of  the  high  road 
known  as  the  "  Padre's  School." 

Durgamonee  asked  the  gate-keeper  if  a  Baboo 
of  the  name  of  Prosonno  Kumar  Chatterjee  lived 
there.  The  door-keeper  answered  "  yes,"  and  di- 
rected her  to  go  to  the  house  near  the  school, 
and  inquire  there.  Prosonno  was  just  coining  out 
of  the  doorway.  He  recognized  her  at  once, 
went  up  to  her,  and  eagerly  inquired  how  the 
family  were.  Durgamonee  informed  him  of  all 
that  had  recently  happened,  and  asked  him  in 
return  how  he  was  getting  on,  and  how  he  liked 
his  change  of  life ;  where  he  lived ;  and  what  he 
ate  and  drank.  After  extracting  from  him  all 
the  information  she  wanted,  she  brought  out  the 
letter,  and  said,  carelessly,  "  Here,  Baboo,  is  some- 
thing for  you ;  the  new  bride  sent  it  by  me." 

Taking  it  to  his  room,  Prosonno  read  the  letter, 
lost  in  thankfulness  and  wonder.  Kaminee  wish- 
ing to  become  a  Christian !  She  who  had  so 
abhorred  everything  connected  with  Christianity  J 


THE   CRISIS   ARRIVED.  271 

That  she  should  be  longing  and  seeking  for  it 
That  she  should  be  wanting  to  see  him  again 
when  he  had  fancied  that  she  hated  him !  That 
his  grandmother  had  died  with  the  name  of  Jesus 
on  her  lips !  That  the  wife  of  Surjo,  who  had 
been  his  greatest  persecutor,  should  be  wishing  to 
join  the  Christians  with  her  children  !  "  Surely," 
he  thought,  "  God's  thoughts  are  not  as  our 
thoughts ;  neither  are  His  ways  as  our  ways." 

He  had  forgotten  Durgramonee's  presence  alto- 
gether ;  and  it  was  only  when  she  asked,  "  Well, 
Baboo,  what  am  I  to  say?"  that  he  came  to 
realities  again. 

"  Come  with  me,  and  I  will  give  you  the  an- 
swer," he  said  as  he  led  the  way  to  the  missionary's 
house.  The  missionary  and  his  wife  were  truly 
glad,  they  gave  Prosonno  abundant  sympathy,  and 
the  lady  was  indulging  in  some  pleasant  air-castles 
about  her  future  pupils,  when  the  messenger  re- 
minded them  that  she  must  hasten  home. 

So  Durgamonee  was  told  that  "  the  two  women 
and  children  were  to  be  ready  at  seven  o'clock  the 
day  after  to-morrow.  The  missionary  and  Pro- 
sonno  were  to  come  and  wait  in  a  carriage  at  the 
end  of  the  narrow  lane  at  the  back  of  the  house : 


272  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

Durgamonee  was  to  let  the  women  out  by  the 
side-door,  and  see  them  safely  away."  Durgamo- 
nee returned  home  quite  elated  with  the  informa- 
tion she  had  acquired,  and  at  the  speedy  prospect 
of  substantial  wealth.  The  discussion  about  tiie 
sweetmeats  was  soon  over ;  and  when  her  mother- 
in-law  was  busy  with  the  cakes,  Kaminee  followed 
Durga  into  a  quiet  corner,  and  heard  all  that  she 
had  to  tell. 

The  next  two  days  were  strange  ones  to  Kami- 
nee.  She  longed  for  the  hour  of  their  departure, 
but  felt  afraid  lest  anything  should  happen  to 
prevent  it. 

The  wished-for  hour  at  length  arrived.  Kam- 
inee and  Shoudaminee  had  spent  the  day  as  usual; 
no  suspicion  had  been  raised.  Durga  had  been 
sometimes  tempted  to  tell  one  of  her  fellow- 
servants,  as  the  matter  would  have  afforded  a 
first-rate  subject  of  gossip ;  but  the  thought  of 
the  bracelet  held  her  back.  When  the  twilight 
was  quickly  fading  into  darkness,  and  Mohendro's 
wife  had  retired  to  prepare  her  husband's  meal, 
Kaminee  and  her  sister  tied  up  their  little  bundles. 
It  was  with  beating  hearts  that  they  did  so ;  and 
Kaminee's  thoughts  went  back  to  that  evening 


THE   SISTERS   ESCAPE    SAFELY.  273 

when  her  husband  had  talked  with  her  before  he 
went  away.  Soon  Durgamonee  hastened  into  her 
room  and  said — 

"  Be  quick,  the  time  is  come.  A  carriage  is  at 
the  bottom  of  the  lane,  and  the  Baboo  has  waved 
a  handkerchief  out  of  the  window." 

Shoudaminee  was  hastily  called  with  the  chil- 
dren, who  wondered  what  was  to  happen;  and 
they  all  slipped  quietly  down-stairs.  The  garden 
gate  was  already  open,  and  in  less  than  a  minute 
they  were  in  the  carriage.  Durgamonee  returned 
with  the  gold  bracelet  in  her  hand ;  and  she  began 
inventing  all  kinds  of  falsehoods  in  case  any  one 
should  tax  her  with  assisting  the  affair. 

It  was  with  strange  feelings  that  Prosonno  be- 
held his  wife  after  their  two  years'  separation. 
He  wanted  to  see  if  she  was  changed ;  but  that 
was  out  of  the  question  at  present,  for  both  the 
women  kept  their  faces  closely  veiled.  Kaminee 
perhaps  would  have  spoken  if  it  had  not  been  for 
the  presence  of  the  missionary.  The  conversation 
was  kept  up  between  Prosonno  and  Gopal,  who 
was  greatly  excited  with  the  novelty  of  his  jour- 
ney. He  remembered  his  uncle  well,  and  amused 

18 


274  LIFE    BY   THE   GANGES. 

him  on  the  way  by  giving  his  version  of  the 
family  news. 

The  strangers  were  taken  at  once  to  Rdm 
Doyal's  house,  where  the  missionary's  wife  was 
waiting  with  Suseela  to  welcome  them.  Long 
and  pleasant  were  the  communings  of  husband 
and  wife  together  over  the  story  of  the  last  two 
years ;  Kaminee  had  to  tell  of  the  growth  of  her 
faith,  her  convictions,  and  her  peace.  Prosonno 
also  had  to  describe  his  Christian  life  and  the 
Christian  religion. 

A  few  weeks  were  spent  at  Ram  Doyal's  where 
Suseela  did  her  best  to  secure  their  comfort. 
Kaminee  felt  herself  at  home  much  sooner  than 
Shoudaminee,  but  that  was  natural,  as  she  had 
her  husband  to  consult  where  anything  needed  to 
be  explained.  One  thing  that  struck  them  both 
was  the  treatment  of  the  women.  Among  the 
Christians,  women  (they  saw)  were  considered  ca- 
pable of  something  more  than  being  good  cooks. 
They  were  greatly  pleased  that  the  missionary's 
wife  had  engaged  to  teach  them  for  an  hour  a  day. 
Prosonno,  in  the  meantime,  was  diligently  prepa- 
ring their  new  home,  and  it  was  soon  ready  to  be 
occupied. 


CONSTERNATION   AT   THEIR   DEPARTURE.     275 

The  evening  that  Kaminee  and  Shoudaminee 
had  left  their  Hindoo  home,  Mohendro  returned 
to  the  house  unusually  tired  and  downcast,  and 
said  to  his  wife,  "  I  do  not  know  what  is  to  be- 
come of  us.  Chondro  Kumar  has  been  gambling, 
and  has  suffered  several  losses :  our  money  is  fast 
being  spent :  what  with  that  apostate's  behaviour, 
and  the  expenses  that  fell  on  us  at  that  time; 
what  with  Surjo's  funeral,  my  pilgrimage,  Tha- 
koor  Ma's  Sraddha,  and  the  putting  on  of  Gopal's 
Poita,  we  cannot  hold  out  much  longer.  Hemlota 
is  not  married,  and  there  seems  little  chance  of 
her  being  so."  His  wife,  who  dreaded  her  hus- 
band's temper,  told  him  he  was  in  low  spirits,  and 
tried  to  enliven  him  by  an  unusually  good  supper, 
and  telling  him  the  gossip  of  the  day.  The  next 
morning  the  house  seemed  remarkably  quiet.  No 
voices  of  children  sounded  in  the  courts  of  the 
house,  and  the  younger  women  had  disappeared. 
Mohendro's  wife  went  to  Shoudaminee's  room 
but  to  her  horror  found  it  empty.  The  house 
was  searched,  but  neither  women  nor  children 
could  be  found.  None  could  imagine  whither 
they  had  gone ;  but  Nobo,  who  called  to  mind  his 
conversation  with  Kaminee,  declared  his  suspicion 


276  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

that  they  too  had  joined  the  hated  Christians. 
The  family  distress  was  great;  not  so  much  on 
account  of  the  women  as  for  Gopal,  the  only 
grandson  of  the  house,  their  eldest  son's  only  boy. 
Mohendro  at  first  raged  and  stormed;  then  he 
shed  bitter  tears ;  and  almost  poured  curses  on  the 
gods  for  the  evils  that  they  had  suffered  so  often 
to  enter  his  habitation.  Nobo  proposed  to  go  to 
the  magistrate;  but  his  father,  fearful  of  another 
heavy  expense,  which  was  almost  sure  to  be  fruit- 
less, suggested  that  he  should  make  only  private 
inquiries.  He  did  so ;  but  returned  disappointed. 
"Gopal  being  an  orphan  and  not  of  age,  his 
mother  had  full  right  to  keep  him."  Durgamo- 
nee  had  been  so  zealous  in  the  search  that  no  one 
suspected  her  of  conniving  at  their  escape. 

At  last  a  strange  thing  came  to  light.  In  the 
course  of  the  day,  while  Mohendro's  wife  was 
looking  over  Kaminee's  room  and  possession,  she 
came  upon  a  book  that  looked  old  and  worn. 
She  carried  it  straight  to  her  husband.  He  re- 
cognized it,  though  he  had  seen  it  but  once,  and 
that  nearly  fifty  years  ago.  It  was  the  New  Tes- 
tament, the  gift  of  the  Christian  missionary  at 
Saugor !  He  gave  it  in  faith,  not  knowing  where 


THE    SAUGOR    TESTAMENT   DISCOVERED.     277 

the  seed  of  the  word  might  fall.  For  forty  years 
it  lay  silent  and  hidden,  but  it  had  fallen  at 
length  on  good  ground ;  and  when  it  sprang  up, 
it  had  borne  fruit  a  hundredfold. 


CHAPTER   X. 

IT  was  a  lovely  Sabbath  morning ;  and  all  nature 
seemed  rejoicing  in  the  return  of  the  day  of 
rest.  The  grass  and  trees  looked  fresh  and  green, 
after  the  soft  showers  of  the  previous  night;  a 
light  breeze  poured  music  through  the  boughs  of 
the  feathery  fir-trees,  and  the  early  sunshine  rested 
lovingly  on  the  reviving  earth ;  typical  of  the 
sunshine  on  many  hearts  in  the  mission  station, 
that  awoke  that  morning  full  of  joy  and  thank- 
fulness. 

The  missionary  and  his  wife  began  their  day 
with  special  prayer  for  a  blessing  on  all  their 
Sabbath  work,  and  chiefly  for  those  who  were  for 
the  first  time  to  confess  their  faith  in  Christ ;  for 
in  their  little  church  that  day,  Kaminee  and  her 
sister-in-law  were  both  to  be  baptized. 

It  was  now  two  months  since  they  had  first 
come  among  the  Christian  community ;  and  du- 
ring that  time,  it  had  been  Prosonno's  delight  to 

278 


JOY   OF   THE   NEW    CONVERTS.  279 

teach  his  beloved  wife  the  full  truth  of  that 
blessed  religion  into  which  she  had  begun  to  in- 
quire. The  missionary's  wife  had  had  several  long 
conversations  both  with  her  and  Shoudaminee, 
especially  the  latter,  as  she  naturally  felt  more 
lonely  than  her  sister  in  her  new  circumstances ; 
and  her  gentle  kindness  had  at  last  succeeded  in 
dispelling  a  great  deal  of  the  stranger's  shyness, 
and  in  winning  her  confidence.  She  did  not  even 
know  so  much  of  Christianity  as  Kaminee ;  but 
what  she  had  learned  from  her  sister  had  won  her 
love,  and  made  her  wish  to  be  a  Christian. 

As  for  Prosonno  and  Kamiuee,  it  would  have 
been  hard  to  say  which  was  the  happier  of  the 
two.  Kaminee's  doubts  had  given  way  before 
the  arguments  set  before  her  by  her  husband,  both 
by  words  and  by  example ;  and  now  her  prayer 
was,  that  she  might  daily  gro\\  in  love  to  the 
Sayiour  who  had  first  loved  her.  Prosonno  again 
had  that  morning  to  give  thanks  with  a  full 
heart  to  the  God  who  had  heard  his  prayers,  and 
brought  his  wife  to  him,  to  be  a  loving  companion 
to  her  husband,  and  a  faithful  helper  in  every 
good  word  and  work. 

Kaminee  and  her  sister,  as  we  have  said  before, 


280  LIFE   BY  THE   GANGES. 

were  to  be  baptized  in  the  little  native  church 
belonging  to  the  station.  Young  men,  when  they 
embraced  Christianity,  were  usually  baptized  in 
the  English  church  at  some  little  distance  from 
the  station,  that  the  English  friends  who  helped 
to  support  the  mission  might  have  the  gratification 
of  witnessing  the  ceremony ;  but  women  preferred, 
and  their  Christian  friends  preferred  for  them, 
the  more  private  service  of  the  native  church  near 
to  their  own  homes. 

The  service  was  to  begin  at  ten  o'clock ;  but  a 
little  before  that  hour  Shoudaminee  entered  the 
missionary's  house,  and  asked  to  see  the  lady. 
After  a  kind  welcome,  she  said, — 

"Ma'am,  I  have  brought  you  Gopal's  poita.* 
He  had  it  given  him  only  a  short  time  ago ;  but 
I  have  persuaded  him  to  let  me  take  it  off  this 
morning ;  and  now  I  bring  it  to  you,  as  a  sign 
that  I  will  try  to  bring  him  up  as  a  Christian." 

The  missionary's  wife  was  much  pleased  with 
this  act,  coming,  as  it  did,  from  the  woman  her- 
self; for  she  knew  what  a  sacrifice  of  feeling  it 
must  have  cost  her,  and  she  said  kindly, — 

"  May  God  give  you  strength  and  wisdom  to 

*  The  sacred  thread  worn  over  the  shoulder  by  Brahmins. 


CHRISTIAN   WORSHIP.  281 

do  so,  my  dear  Shoudarainee.  When  Jesus  came 
to  this  world,  He  showed  special  kindness  to  little 
children,  and  He  loves  them  still.  He  will  surely 
smile  on  your  efforts  to  teach  your  little  ones  of 
His  love;  and  to  train  them  up  in  His  service." 

At  the  appointed  hour  of  worship,  the  little 
sanctuary  was  full.  Kaminee  was  seated  on  the 
women's  side  of  the  church,  near  her  friend  Su- 
seela ;  and  the  missionary's  wife  sat  not  far  off 
with  Shoudaminee.  They  had  often  attended 
Christian  public  worship  before,  but  Kaminee  had 
not  ceased  to  be  impressed  with  the  beauty  and 
simplicity  of  its  order.  Hymns  of  praise  to  God 
were  sung  in  pure,  simple  Bengalee,  such  as  all 
could  understand ;  one  or  two  chapters  from  the 
Bible  were  read;  and  prayers  offered,  thanking 
God  for  all  His  kindness  to  the  people,  and  ask- 
ing Him  for  all  the  good  they  needed,  both  for 
this  life  and  for  the  next.  The  special  circum- 
stances under  which  they  met  that  day  were  not 
forgotten.  The  missionary  prayed  earnestly  that 
the  two  who  were  now  to  devote  themselves  to  the 
Saviour,  might  be  kept  faithful  unto  death/and 
that  they  might  be  the  first-fruits  of  a  large  in- 
gathering of  the  daughters  of  India  to  the  Church 


282  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

of  Jesus  Christ.  Then  he  read  a  few  words  from 
the  Holy  Book,  and  explained  and  enforced  the 
lessons  they  were  meant  to  teach.  Last  came  the 
holy  rite  of  baptism.  The  two  women  stood  up 
in  front  of  the  congregation.  The  missionary 
asked  whether  it  was  their  hearty  desire  to  re- 
nounce Hindooism,  and  to  embrace  the  religion 
of  Jesus  Christ :  and  on  their  replying,  "  We  do 
wish  it,"  they  received  the  sign  of  pure  water  in 
token  of  their  trust  in  Him,  whose  blood  purifies 
the  heart  from  all  sin.  The  missionary  then 
prayed  to  God  that  His  blessing,  love,  and  peace 
might  remain  with  them  then  and  always ;  and 
the  congregation  dispersed  to  their  homes. 

Prosonno  and  Ka'minee,  with  her  sister,  returned 
to  Ram  Doyal's  house  after  the  service.  He  and 
his  wife  were  to  go  to  their  own  home  the  next  day. 
It  was  his  wish  not  to  enter  it  till  his  wife  had  been 
baptized,  that  it  might  be  from  the  beginning 
consecrated  as  a  Christian  home,  in  which  they 
should  daily  ask  God  to  dwell.  Shoudaminee 
had  a  little  house  near  them  where  she  was  to  live 
with  her  children,  and  in  which  she  looked  for- 
ward on  the  morrow,  cheerfully  and  hopefully,  to 
begin  her  new  life. 


THE   GIRLS'  BOARDING-SCHOOL.  283 

Shoudaminee  and  her  boy  became  earnest  stu- 
dents. Karainee,  too,  found  learning  pleasant  work, 
now  that  she  had  her  husband  to  teach  her.  She 
had  no  longer  to  make  a  secret  of  her  wish  and 
thirst  for  knowledge ;  he  found  as  much  pleasure 
in  teaching  her,  as  she  had  in  learning,  so  that 
she  made  rapid  progress ;  and  with  her  household 
occupations  of  keeping  her  home  in  order  and 
preparing  her  husband's  meals,  (which  duty  she 
resumed  on  entering  her  own  house),  her  time 
passed  very  quickly  and  happily  away. 

It  was  some  weeks  after  this,  that  Prosonno 
went  one  evening  to  a  native  chapel,  with  the 
missionary,  to  hear  him  preach  to  a  heathen  con- 
gregation. He  was  hoping,  at  some  future  time, 
to  be  specially  set  apart  for  the  work  of  preaching 
to  his  countrymen ;  and  he  was  endeavoring,  by 
listening  to  the  missionary's  sermons,  to  gather 
hints  as  to  the  best  mode  of  effective  preaching. 
On  his  return,  he  met  Nobo,  who  was  taking  a 
walk  in  that  direction,  and  persuaded  him  to  pay 
a  visit  to  Kaminee  and  himself  in  their  new  home. 
He  was  much  pleased  with  the  comfort  and  order 
of  its  arrangements ;  and  Kaminee  was  very  glad 
to  see  him  again.  UI  am  so  glad  you  came, 


284  LIFE   BY   THE   GANGES. 

Nobo,"  she  said  to  him,  "that  you  may  see  how 
happy  we  are  here.  Since  I  became  a  Christian, 
I  have  been  quite  content." 

"Yes,"  replied  Nobo,  "a  woman  is  always 
happy  with  her  husband.  She  has  nothing  to 
leave  in  comparison  with  him ;  but  with  us  men 
it  is  very  different.  I  could  not  be  happy  as  a 
Christian,  now,  with  all  I  should  have  to  give  up." 

"  Oh,  I  wish  I  could  persuade  you  to  try  it !" 
exclaimed  Prosonno.  "We  are  so  happy  now 
that  we  are  of  one  heart  and  mind.  I  give 
Kaminee  a  lesson  every  day,  not  only  about  reli- 
gion, but  on  many  other  subjects,  and  she  is  an 
apt  scholar.  What  a  mistake  it  is  that  so  many 
of  our  country-women  should  be  left  to  grow  up 
in  ignorance." 

"Perhaps  it  is,"  said  Nobo;  "but  don't  you 
think  that  learning  much  would  make  them  neg- 
lect their  household  duties?" 

"Why,"  answered  Prosonno,  smiling,  "you 
have  just  been  admiring  the  arrangement  of  our 
house,  which  is  all  Kaminee's  doing;  and  for 
further  answer,  I  wish  you  could  come  and  taste 
her  curries  now.  They  seem  to  me  to  be  better 
than  ever." 


NOBO   PAYS   THEM   A   VISIT.  285 

Both  the  brothers  were  silent  for  a  few  moments. 
This  little  speech,  trivial  as  it  was,  had  made 
them  feel  what  a  cruel  barrier  Hindooism  placed 
between  those  who  were  in  many  respects  very 
near  and  dear  to  each  other,  a  barrier  so  strong 
that  one  brother  could  not  accept  even  the  sim- 
plest hospitality  from  the  other,  without  breaking 
one  of  the  first  rules  of  his  religion. 

After  a  pause  Nobo  said,  "Well,  perhaps  you 
are  right ;  I  confess  I  wish  sometimes  I  could  be 
a  Christian  myself,  but  I  cannot." 

"Why  not,  brother?"  asked  Prosonno. 

"  I  could  never  give  up  everything,  as  you  did. 
Besides,  now  that  Chondro  is  so  extravagant,  I 
am  the  only  comfort  our  father  has.  It  would 
break  his  heart  if  I  left  him.  I  dare  not  even 
tell  him  that  I  have  been  to  see  you." 

"How  I  wish  I  could  see  him!"  exclaimed 
Prosonno.  "  Is  hf  much  altered  since  I  saw 
him?" 

"Yes,  he  looks  much  older  and  sadder  now. 
He  has  had  many  anxieties  lately ;"  and  Nobo 
related  the  vain  attempt  they  had  made  to  get 
Hemlota  married.  Then  followed  a  long  talk 
about  family  affairs.  Prosonno  made  Nobo  tell 


286  Ltt'K   fcr  THE   GANGES. 

him  every  little  particular  he  could  think  of,  and 
eagerly  asked  so  many  qusestions  that  no  one  who 
might  have  heard  the  conversation  could  hav« 
thought  for  a  moment  that  Christianity  had  at  all 
lessened  his  love  for  his  own  people.  Nay,  it  had 
even  strengthened  and  deepened  his  aifection. 
Then,  it  was  Nobo's  turn  to  ask  questions.  He 
inquired  after  Shoudaminee  and  her  children,  who 
by  this  time  were  there  to  answer  for  themselves, 
as  Kaminee  had  gone,  while  the  brothers  were 
talking,  to  fetch  them  in.  Little  Gopal  was  de- 
lighted to  see  his  uncle.  He  immediately  entered 
into  a  long  story  of  his  doings,  his  school,  his 
playmates,  and  his  new  books.  At  last  Nobo 
regretfully  rose  to  go,  but  not  before  his  brothei 
had  made  him  promise  to  come  and  see  them  as 
often  as  he  could. 

Nobo  often  came  to  see  his  brother  when  he 
could  do  so  without  his  father's  knowledge,  and 
always  received  a  hearty  welcome.  But  he  still 
remained  undecided  on  the  subject  of  religion. 
He  knew  the  truth,  and  believed  it  in  his  heart; 
but  he  was  doing  what  so  many  of  his  class  in 
India  are  now  doing — halting  between  two  opin- 
ions. As  he  had  confessed  to  his  brother,  he  could 


CONVERSATION   BETWEEN   THE   BROTHERS.  287 

not  make  up  his  mind  to  become  a  Christian,  and 
to  give  up  everything  for  the  truth;  and  so  he 
never  possessed  the  settled  repose  of  mind  that 
Prosonno  and  Kaminee  enjoyed.  As  they  had 
told  him,  now  that  they  were  of  one  heart,  they 
were  very  happy;  and  before  long  their  happi- 
ness was  increased  by  the  birth  of  a  son,  whom 
they  hoped  to  train  up. as  God  should  give  them 
grace,  to  be  His  faithful  servant  till  his  life's  end. 
Kaminee  and  her  husband  were  very  proud  of 
their  little  treasure,  and  great  was  the  rejoicing 
among  their  friends  at  the  happy  event. 

"  See  how  God  has  blessed  us,  my  Kaminee," 
Prosonno  said  to  his  wife.  "He  taught  me  to 
know  His  truth,  and  to  believe  in  it,  and  when  I 
had  almost  given  up  hoping  for  it,  He  gave  you 
back  to  me,  a  Christian  wife :  now  He  has  com- 
pleted our  joy  with  this  new  blessing." 

Prosonno  was  holding  his  child  in  his  arms,  and 
as  Kaminee  kissed  her  little  darling,  she  said — 

"  Yes,  He  has  indeed  been  good  to  us.  Let  us 
thank  Him  for  it !"  And  then  Prosonno  prayed 
with  her,  that  God  would  ever  keep  them  thank- 
ful for  all  His  love,  and  long  spare  them  and  their 


288  LIFE    BY    THE    GANGES. 

child  to  each  other,  that  they  might  live  together 
a  loving,  happy  Christian  family. 

Here  we  must  leave  our  friends.  We  have 
followed  some  of  them,  through  the  mazes  of 
Hindooism,  into  the  straight  but  pleasant  path  of 
Christian  life  that  leads  to  life  everlasting.  May 
many  of  the  natives  of  India  be  induced  to  fol- 
low their  example,  to  leave  their  dumb  idols  for 
the  worship  of  the  one  living  and  true  God ! 
May  He  give  them  courage  to  cast  aside  the 
shackles  that  so  long  have  held  them,  to  profess 
what  they  believe  in  their  hearts  to  be  the  truth, 
and  to  enrol  themselves  in  the  small  but  noble 
band  of  those  to  whom  our  Saviour  has  given  the 
promise  : — "  Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  there  is  no 
man  that  hath  left  house,  or  parents,  or  brethren, 
or  wife,  or  children,  for  the  kingdom  of  God's 
sake,  who  shall  not  receive  manifold  more  in  this 
present  time,  and  in  the  world  to  come  LIFE 

EVERLASTING !" 


THE   END. 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


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